The Stolen Bride
by genkicookie
Summary: This is the fifth time Tifa Lockhart disguised herself as a man to lead a large group of merchants from Nibelheim to trade in Midgar. She thought the trip will be smooth like before, but not this time…she was robbed! A man with blue eyes has taken her.
1. Chapter 1

_Here is the return of The Stolen Bride!_

_Summary:_

_This was the fifth time Tifa Lockhart had disguised herself as a man to lead a large group of merchants from Nibelheim to trade in Midgar! She thought the trip would be smooth like before, but not this time…she was kidnapped! A man with blue eyes has taken her away. She…became his slave._

_(I would like to try and write a story that has a mysterious Oriental background! Although the names of places will remain the same as FFVII, I will add tinges of oriental culture inside the story. The story will take place in around the 13__th__ century…somewhere during the Song Dynasty in China, when trade was prosperous between the East and West. Enjoy!)_

_I don't own anything from FFVII or Square Enix._

**Revised on 17/6**

Chapter 1

It was the years when the Shinra family ruled. The Shinra Dynasty succeeded an era of political upheaval and uprisings. During that time 5 dynasties quickly succeeded one another and war has never ended. That was until the Shinra family rose up as a strong force that united the whole country and started the Shinra Dynasty. 15 years had passed since the dynasty was founded and the people lived in relative peace. Peace was extremely precious to the people after such a disastrous era of war and blood, the people of the country did not know much about politics, nor understand the importance of the abilities and talents of their ruler, but since the society was stable and peaceful, they dared not ruin the serenity the royal family gave them. It was the army's responsibility to defend the country against the Wolves in the West and the Crows in the North. The only thing that the people had to do was to foster the economy and bring prosperity to the country.

Trade was the main activity which brought great income to the country. If you were to ask what kind of trade was the most profitable the people would definitely answer 'Silk' and 'Porcelain'. However, if you asked who the greatest traders in the country were, then they may have replied that it depended on which part of the country you were asking about! In the North, people would definitely answer The Fair Brothers. But if you were asking about the South the answer would be different because the only trader who could be compared to the Fair Brothers would be the Lockharts.

The Fair Brothers were well known for their profitable coal and arms industry and range management, whilst the Lockharts ran a wealthy business of silk and jewelry in the South. The famous Lockhart Company had the best silk producers and tailors in the whole country. Their business earned huge amounts of profits every year.

Even the clothes and robes of the royal family were designed and made by the Lockharts. You can see how rich and successful they were! Because the silk and the jewels that were sold were made and crafted to the very best quality, the sincere and trustworthy attitude of the Lockharts had gained them a great reputation in the trade industry.

Although they had amassed large amounts of profit, they did not raise the prices of their goods. John Lockhart understood that the aftermaths of the wars were still seriously affecting the people of the country. Thus, he donated much of their money to help the poorer peasants in the rural area's, this provided them with farming tools and helped to build their agricultural industry. His generosity had also earned him his good reputation in society.

With such a successful business, there shouldn't be anything else that John Lockhart would need. However, only one thing really worried him. John Lockhart had two daughters and he feared that The Lockhart Company might not succeed under their management. In an era in which inequality was still serious, he struggled to decide whether he should leave the company to his two daughters or not. Five years ago, he slowly transferred most of the business to his eldest daughter, but on the surface it still looked as if he was still in charge of it all. Although women began to enjoy more privileges after the Shinras took charge of the country, most people still disregarded the abilities of women and viewed them as properties only. His eldest daughter, Tifa had shown she was intelligent since she was young. At that time, John Lockhart immediately hired a scholar to teach her how to read and write, but the scholar felt insulted at being asked to teach a female and left. John Lockhart realized that the status of women was still greatly disregarded by the people in such a conservative environment. If he left the business to his daughters he worried that his trading partners might oppose and stop trading with them! Later, he decided the only thing he could do was to secretly dress Tifa up as a boy in order to hire a teacher willing to educate her. People from outside viewed the disguised Tifa as his love child and gave no comment.

* * *

><p>Now 21 years old, Tifa Lockhart owned two identities. She was the beautiful Lady Tifa Lockhart to the public, but had to hide her beauty to become Karl Lockhart, the illegitimate son of John Lockhart. Nonetheless, Karl had already taken merchants on trade journeys from Nibelheim to Midgar four times and had returned with precious fabric and jewelry, not to mention spreading their great reputation all over the world.<p>

Not knowing Karl Lockhart's true identity, many trade partners of John's tried to persuade him to legitimatize the status of his "son", and hand over the business when he retired. John could only give a wry smile, what would the people think if they knew that Karl Lockhart was actually a woman?

Although Tifa had the ability to operate the business, she could not disguise herself as a man forever. If she inherited the business as Karl, this meant that she would have to pretend to be a man forever and would be unable to find true love. If she took over the business as a woman…nobody would want to trade with her at such a conservative time in their history! While John Lockhart was worrying about the heir to his business, Tifa was preparing to lead another group of merchants to Midgar yet again.

John Lockhart sat worrying in his office; his cup of tea was already cold due to the cool autumn air. He sighed, he'd heard from his trading partners that a group of merchants had disappeared during their trip to Midgar and merchants that happened to be nearby saw broken pieces of cargos and corpses. Rumors said that there were a pack of brutal bandits ravaging the area.

It was always an uncontrollable and dangerous journey on the way to Midgar. There were bandits, thieves and the Shinras greatest enemy, The Wolves. Although there was peace, there were still small-scale battles and conflicts between countries and people affected mostly became bandits who attacked the merchants for their cargos and money.

In the past John himself used to lead a large group of merchants to different places to trade, but he stopped leading them after a trip to Junon. On that trip, the whole trading team were robbed by a large pack of bandits and Lockhart was shot and injured severely in the leg by an arrow while trying to escape. Unfortunately, his wound didn't heal properly and made him limp from that day onwards. That was the reason why he stopped leading merchants to different places to trade. John sighed again. Maybe he should stop Tifa from leading the trip this time.

* * *

><p><em>Knock knock!<em>

'Father, you called for me?' A young man with brown hair and chocolate-wine eyes entered the room.

'Yes dear, I was looking for you.' John Lockhart rose from his chair and steadied himself by leaning on his walking stick but grunted when he straightened his back. He was getting old.

'Oh father! Sit down. Is the pain really bad? Here.' The young man hurried towards John and put a cushion, which was originally on the couch, behind his back so he could sit on his chair comfortably.

'I was only looking for you to discuss the coming trip to Midgar.' John leaned back onto his chair and looked up at the young man standing next to him.

'What about it? I've got everything prepared and ready to go. Reno is coming with me this time as my bodyguard.' The young man pulled a small, wooden stool from the corner of the room and sat next to John.

I've heard from people today that a group of merchants went missing three months ago while they were on their way to Midgar to trade. I don't think it is a good idea for you to go this time.' John took hold of the young man's hand and patted it.

'I've heard of it too, that is why some of the merchants on this trip are going to hire armed bodyguards to escort the team to Midgar. I'm sure everything's going to be alright, don't worry father.' The young man smiled reassuringly at John.

'Tifa my dear, listen to me. It is too dangerous. I don't want you to go. I cannot take the risk.' John looked up into chocolate-wine eyes. He never wanted Tifa to disguise herself as a man and lead the merchants through dangerous zones for trading, but his badly healed leg would never allow him to travel again.

Tifa, not wanting her father's company to fail, took up the task and helped operate the business. She felt there was a need to disguise herself as a man for when she ventured on the trips, for as a woman she would attract much more danger during the long journeys. John was worried every time Tifa had to go on a trip away from Nibelheim and always told her there was no need to lead the merchants herself. However, Tifa insisted and promised to make sure everything went according to plan. Stubborn as she was, John admired her spirit.

'Father, I've led the team for four times already. Nothing bad happened to us and I came home in one piece. I'm not going to be killed.' Tifa knelt down on her knees and held her father's hand. 'Trust me father, everything will be fine like before!'

'Tifa, you are my daughter. I can't let you disguise yourself as a man for your whole life just to go on trading journeys. You should get married and have a happy life.' John cupped his daughter's face and caressed her smooth, delicate cheek with his thumb.

'But I don't want to get married. I still haven't met someone I love and I want to do this for you, father. I want to help you run the business and go on trips for you. I don't mind pretending to be a man for my whole life.' Tifa stood up and kissed her father on the cheek. 'I promise I will come back safely. I'll leave tomorrow morning.' And with that, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

John closed his eyes and sighed. He truly hoped that Tifa would come back safely like before. He then turned his chair and looked out the window into the clear blue sky.

'Tifa is just as stubborn as you, Elaine. Please watch over her.' he murmured.

* * *

><p>The moon had risen and stars shone brightly in the sky, adding wonderful sparks of silver into the shades of midnight blue. In the Lockhart's household, a young, pretty woman with short black hair was peeking through her older sister's study room, hoping to see what Tifa was doing. Yuffie, the second daughter of John Lockhart was adopted by John and his wife Elaine when she was four after they found her wandering on the streets, crying and begging for food. She was at first timid and shy, but soon became a joyful and energetic girl after being a member of the Lockhart family. She was quite the mischievous girl and loved to pull pranks on people and now she was trying to scare the daylights out of her big sister.<p>

She was about to barge into Tifa's room when suddenly a voice from inside the room said 'Yuffie, stop peeking. If you want to come in then come in. Stop trying to pull pranks on me.'

'Aww, Tifa you're no fun.' Yuffie pouted her lips and pushed the door open; obviously a bit disappointed that she lost the chance of scaring her sister. Inside the room stood Tifa, counting the trade items for the last time to make sure she had everything ready.

'Hmmm, people in Midgar are really fond of our silk and jewellery, maybe we should bring more to trade this time… and I've heard that there are lot of funny little gadgets in Midgar, there's these glowing little balls and other stuff. I can bring some back for you if you want me to.' Tifa turned to smile at Yuffie after she finished counting the stock.

'Tifa! You have to get some rest. You've been counting non-stop and arranging the trip for days! I was reading but the book father told me to read but it is so boring so I came here to talk with you. I know you're going to leave tomorrow morning and I don't know when you are coming back! It might take you a couple of weeks or even months! I'll be so lonely when you're gone.' Yuffie came up to Tifa and hugged her tightly. 'Can I go with you this time? I've never gone on a trip before and I want to try!' Yuffie released Tifa from the embrace and looked at her with puppy eyes.

'Absolutely not! Father would kill me if I brought you along! It's cold in the evening, why didn't you wear something warmer?' Tifa furrowed her eyebrows as she realized Yuffie was only wearing a white short satin dress. She went over to her chair and took her white wool-knit shawl and handed it to Yuffie.

'It's not fair. I want to go on adventures too.' Yuffie wrapped the shawl around her shoulders and sat onto the velvet magenta couch in the study. 'I heard that Reno is going with you. He's really happy that you're taking him with you as your bodyguard. But sis, are you sure he can protect you? He's not _that_ good in fighting. Besides, don't you know he's got a huge crush on you? He might think he's got a chance!' Yuffie exclaimed.

'Yuffie, I'm bringing him because he's good enough to go on trips like these and we've been friends since childhood. He knows I'm a girl so he can help me watch out for any careless mistakes that would blow my cover, he's just a friend.' Tifa patted Yuffie on the head and headed out the room. Yuffie quickly stood up and followed her out.

'Well, I just hope he can protect you from danger if you really meet any.' Yuffie said while hurrying to keep up with Tifa.

'He will.' Tifa went to her bedroom and before entering; she turned around and kissed Yuffie on the forehead. 'Goodnight, Yuf.'

'Goodnight, Teef.'

* * *

><p>Morning came quickly and rays of sunlight kissed Tifa on the eyelids, waking her up.<p>

_Another trip again. _

She stretched and rose from her soft bed and headed towards her bathroom to clean herself up. Tifa looked at the mirror. A beautiful girl stared back at her, yet this beauty was unknown to many people. Only her family and Reno knew her secret. Reno knew because his parents were very close with Tifa's parents before they died on that trip to Junon, the trip which John injured his leg and which he had lost his wife, Elaine. John raised Reno up like a son after Reno's parents died and Reno was so close to Tifa's family, so he knew Tifa was a girl instead of a man.

Tifa brushed her soft brown hair into a ponytail and hid it in a hat. She wore a white shirt, black breeches and leather boots. She wrapped herself in a large khaki colored cloak to hide her body more. Looking at herself one more time in the mirror, she headed out of her bedroom and went to the trading team's gathering place.

The streets were filled with people already in the early morning. Carriages went up and down the street's, people were buying food at the street stalls, men riding horses trotted along the busy streets and hawkers shouted loud to attract customers. Karl Lockhart rode on his horse slowly, avoiding the crowds and searching for his group of merchants.

'Lockhart! Over here!' Reno waved at Karl as he saw "him" coming towards them. 'We're all ready to go.'

'Good. We'll be passing the Gold Saucer Area and then we'll sail to Junon. Afterwards, we head north to Midgar. Some of the merchants wanted the route to be like this.' Tifa climbed off of her white horse, unrolled her map and handed it to Reno for him to have a look.

'Well then, let's go. We don't have all day!' Reno yelled to the whole team of merchants and they all immediately climbed onto their horses and got their carriages of items ready.

'Wait!' A voice was heard from across the street. It was Yuffie, and next to her was John. Tifa climbed off her horse and walked towards them. Reno followed her.

'We came to say goodbye! Please take care and come back soon!' Yuffie pulled Tifa into a big hug. Tifa smiled and hugged her back. John also gave Tifa a warm hug.

'Be careful, my dear.' John said while hugging her.

'I will, father.'

'Don't worry sir. I will look after her for you.' Reno patted his chest to show his confidence and that he could take good care of Tifa. John nodded and patted Reno on his shoulder. He looked at Tifa worriedly and gave a small smile. Tifa returned a smile and turned away.

Tifa and Reno then headed back towards the waiting team and climbed onto their horses.

'Let's go.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It had been four days since the journey started and an atmosphere of fear and discomfort soon surrounded Tifa. There were broken carriages, abandoned cargos and bits of fabric lying all over the paths after they passed the caves which lead the way to Gold Saucer. The troop knew there were bandits roaming around in the route they were going. However, with most of them being profiteers, they were not willing to go the long but safer route their leader suggested and were confident in the 120 bodyguards they had brought along. Only a few of the older merchants had trust in Lockhart. The young leader at first trusted the merchants' choice of men, but soon she regretted not choosing them herself. Delicate brows knitted tightly while examining the group of men.

'What's wrong?' Next to the young leader was her redhead companion, Reno. He was blabbering about how hot the weather was after passing the Lucrecia Pass and entering the desert area. He noticed the concerned look on her face and patted her shoulder.

'The bodyguards, they are ex-servicemen from the Shinra army. They are too weak to keep us safe.' Smooth hands tightened their grasp on the reins of her horse.

Indeed, although the Shinra family had defeated others and ruled the country, to prevent military splits in future, they had started to use civil officials to handle military affairs.

'Emphasizing on civil affairs, the Shinra attracted people to become civil officials instead of soldiers with the promise of high wages. People lost interest in becoming soldiers and the ones who went into the army were only coveted the free meals the government offered.' Lockhart explained carefully to the redhead beside her. Reno only nodded at her response.

'In addition, to prevent the soldiers from becoming too strong, most of them were badly chosen and weak. Now that the new military reform has been carried out, all the weak ones were forced to be retired from the army. Those…' She pointed a finger at the group of noisy men in front of them. 'Are definitely the weaker ones, the way they guard us only at front and are not surrounding us, exposes their weaknesses in defending people.'

'Wow…you sure know a lot.' Reno looked in awe at the young woman beside him. He loved it when she carefully explained things to him. The serious and concentrated look on her face always attracted him ever since their childhood.

'This is our country's history and normal safety guide. We ought to know about it. Reno, you really should read more.' Young Lockhart sighed tiredly. The heat was getting to her and the waves of worry made her feel even worse. Kicking her horse lightly, she moved towards the bodyguards in front of the troop. 'I'll go talk to them.' She exclaimed.

* * *

><p>The men in front of them were fooling around on their horses, laughing and making unwanted noises. They rummaged through the carriages they were responsible for and ate the food and drank the sweet wine they found. Tifa felt the rage inside her about to burst. At this rate, they would finish up all their supplies before they even arrived at Junon. Deepening her voice, she stopped in front of a large man, the leader of the guards.<p>

'It seems that this is a territory where bandits rob trading teams. I don't think we should keep going. It would be better if we turned around and take the route that I suggested.' She climbed down her white horse and looked at the whole troop.

'What do you mean we should turn around? It'll take us even more time! I want us to be extra paid if we have to take a longer route, boy.' The large man scrunched his face in dissatisfaction and bellowed.

'There are broken carriages and abandoned items along the path. We should not go further. It will be too risky and we will put ourselves in danger.' Tifa walked up to them and eyed them face to face, her face slightly flushed because of her own anger and frustration towards the pack of useless men.

'What do you think we are? We're professionally trained men and when I say there is no danger ahead, there will be none! So why don't you climb back onto that little pony of yours and lead the fucking way?' The large man towered over Tifa and glared at her.

'Hey, how dare you talk to him like that? And how can you be certain there won't be any danger ahead? We'll be doomed if we trust a brainless ass like you!' Reno pushed Tifa behind him and returned a glare.

'Why you little…' The large man was going to punch Reno in the face when Tifa stepped between them and pushed them apart.

'Stop this right now. Its useless fighting. I'll just ask the troop if they want to carry on moving forward or not. All should obey the majority on the decision.' Tifa then turned and walked towards the troop.

'Everyone, if we keep on moving forward we might be in danger of being robbed and killed! It would be safer if we turn back and take another route to the Gold Saucer. Tifa swept her gaze among the crowd and hoped someone would give her an answer immediately. Whispers and quiet chats rose from the troop. Soon, an old merchant came over to her and talked to her quietly.

'Mr. Lockhart, there is not enough food for us to take a longer route,' The old merchant took a brief glance at the guards and continued. '…and we cannot refill our food stock as we are not passing any villages and towns. We want to continue and move forward. I understand that you feel insecure and it'll take us two more days before we reach the Gold Saucer, but we won't be able to make it back to the Lucrecia Pass either. It'll take us 4 days to go back. We only have two more days of food.'

Hearing this decision, Tifa sighed. She knew the troop would be unwilling to turn back. It will gain them no profit if they turn back. Walking back to her horse, she turned back to the troop and said 'Then moving forward it is.'

'I can't believe you actually listened to them!' Reno rode his horse next to hers and said quietly. He turned back and saw the bodyguards smirking at them. 'And now the stupid assholes are celebrating that we lost.'

'Reno, the whole troop doesn't want to turn around. We can't just leave them and go back ourselves. This will wreck the reputation of father's business. I just hope there are no bandits ahead.' Tifa turned to look at Reno and said sadly.

'Yeah. But I'll be there for you and fend off the bad guys if we meet any.' Reno winked at her, hoping to cheer her up a little. Making Tifa smile meant a lot to him.

Tifa smiled.

'Thank you, my friend.'

* * *

><p>Another day passed by after they continued on the original route and headed towards Gold Saucer. They had left the desert area and there were still no signs of danger. Because of this, Tifa was beginning to feel a little relieved. That night they camped on the side of a little river. It would only take them half of tomorrow to reach the Gold Saucer.<p>

_Maybe I was just too worried. _Tifa thought to herself as she sat on a log next to the fire Reno had started for them. She massaged her eyes softly to ease out the tiredness in them.

'Mr. Lockhart, feeling tired already? The night is still early. Maybe we can find something fun and… exciting… to do.' A seductive female voice appeared behind Tifa and startled her. It was the only female bodyguard in the whole troop. Tifa frowned slightly. She told the others _not_ to bring any women on the trip, even if they were a bodyguard. This woman did not dress herself up like a man and had been wearing skimpy clothing during their journey. She would draw bad attention to them.

'My name is Priscilla. Can I sit next to you?' Without waiting for Tifa's reply, Priscilla sat next to her on the log, scooting closer so she could practically cling onto Tifa's arm.

Tifa sighed. She never expected that disguising as a young man would draw unwanted attention from other women and this kind of attention from Priscilla was definitely unwanted. Tifa buried her face into her hands and sighed again.

'Mr. Lockhart is already very tired. He needs to rest so move out of the way.' Reno was bringing more wood for the fire nearby when he saw Priscilla approaching Tifa. He quickly hurried back and pushed Priscilla aside, he himself sitting next to Tifa.

'I'm not asking you, you stupid redhead. Mind your own business!' Priscilla glared at Reno for pushing her away from the handsome Mr. Lockhart. Tifa, not wanting to hear their quarrel, stood up and walked into her tent.

Seeing her leave, Reno and Priscilla stopped quarrelling. Reno mumbled a few words about losing the time to be with Tifa quietly and returned to his own tent, not to mention giving Priscilla a last glare. Priscilla paid no attention to Reno, as she was watching the handsome Mr. Lockhart all the way until he disappeared into his tent.

Starting on the first day of the journey, she had already become very interested in this handsome young man. Only a look at his face made her want to drown him with kisses, not to mention he owned a great fortune and a successful trade business. She wanted him! She wanted to become the mistress of the Lockhart family. And even though this exciting man was cold towards her and didn't show a bit of interest in her, she planned to seduce him and make him marry her in the end. After she'd become his mistress, the first thing she would be doing would be to kick that redhead out of the house! Smiling confidently, she went back into her own tent, oblivious to the fact that this young man was actually a woman.

* * *

><p>Birds began chirping as the sun rose; indicating that another day had started. Tifa was woken up by the singing of the birds and started to get ready for the day. She grabbed her breast bindings and wrapped it around her chest, tightening it to hide her wonderful figure. After dressing herself in the great khaki cloak she brought along, she picked up a brush from her bag and started combing her long brown locks when suddenly a voice spoke from outside her tent!<p>

'Lockhart, can I come in?' It was Reno. Tifa stuck her hand outside the tent and motioned Reno to come in.

'I brought you breakfast." Reno smiled happily at her as he put down some food on a makeshift table. He had brought some bread and a bowl of water for her as breakfast.

'Thanks Reno.' Tifa put her brush in her bag and returned Reno a smile. Then she started eating. Reno watched her silently, admiring her with her long hair down.

'_She is just so beautiful.' _He thought. It had been a long time since he saw her with her hair down as she was always pretending to be a man. Noticing Reno was unusually quiet and staring, Tifa broke the silence.

'Is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me like that?' Tifa wiped her face with her fingers, thinking she might have got her face dirty.

'There's nothing on your face. You're just so beautiful that my eyes don't want to leave you.' Reno answered without thinking. Then he realized what he had said and blushed. Tifa, hearing his compliment, also blushed but smiled.

'Thank you, Reno.' Finishing her last bite of bread, she drank the bowl of water and headed out of the tent. The other merchants were still in their tents, no movement showed that they were awake. She then looked up into the sky. There was light rain last night and the sky today wasn't so blue. Great grey clouds were forming again.

'Pack up our stuff and tell the others we will leave in twenty minutes. The weather is not very good and we must hurry past the valley.' Tifa turned to Reno and patted him on his shoulder. Reno took a glance at the sky and nodded, hurrying to pack up the remaining belongings and announce they would leave in twenty minutes. Tifa hurriedly tied her hair into a bun and hid it under her black hat.

* * *

><p>Tifa frowned. It was already past the twenty minutes. Some of the merchants were still packing up their belongings and the bodyguards were groaning and moaning about not having enough sleep! Tifa crossed her arms and restrained her temper. These people never listened to her!<p>

'My boy, if we don't start moving now, it will be hard for us to move our carriages on the path. The rain will make the path muddy and difficult to walk on. I just don't know why the other merchants hired these useless bodyguards! Did they come for fun or to work? They have been fooling around all the way!' An old merchant that had followed Tifa three times on trading journeys walked up to her. He was old Mr. Shuan, an old trading partner of Tifa's father. Maybe he was the only person in the troop who listened to her besides Reno.

'I'm sorry Mr. Shuan.'

'No, my boy! Don't be sorry, I know it is not your fault. You're a smart boy. You showed me your excellent leadership on the past three trips.' The old man smiled and patted Tifa on the shoulder. Tifa only smiled bitterly.

After another good fifteen minutes, the troop was finally ready to go. The whole team passed the valley smoothly and entered a green, hilly area. The path was muddy because of the rainy night and it made it difficult for the carriages to move. Tifa looked up into the sky. The sky was turning into shades of dirty grey; there was a great grey cloud on the hill before them. A cool wind started to blow. It was going to rain very soon. Tifa grasped the reins of her horse tightly.

'There are some caves after the hilly relief that we could use for shelter to avoid the storm, but since we started moving late, we might not reach the area without getting wet.' Tifa looked in Reno's direction and saw him looking at the far hill ahead of them.

'Lockhart… Something's wrong.' Reno hurried next to Tifa and pointed at the hill.

The large grey cloud above the hill was still there, the winds had not blown it away. But there was also grey smoke on top of the hill! Tifa squinted her eyes and looked carefully; it was definitely not smog in the morning. She felt faint trembling and rumbling on the ground beneath her. It seemed that the grey smoke cloud was becoming larger and larger.

Tifa moved forward the horse forward slightly, and focused on the smoke. Her chocolate-wine eyes widened in alarm and she gasped.

_That is not smoke! That is a large troop of bandits!_

'Tell everyone to get on their horses now and turn back! There are bandits ahead!' Tifa ordered and she quickly made her way to the bodyguards in the middle of the troop, which were still enjoying their breakfast.

'There are bandits ahead! In order to keep everyone and the cargos safe, we will turn west and head into the forests to hide. Defend us and the cargo from the bandits once they draw near.' Tifa calmly explained the plan of escape to the leader of the bodyguards, but after the leader heard the word "bandits", he spilt his cup of wine on his pants and panicked!

'G..ge..get on your horses now and get ready to fight!' The large man jumped onto his feet and shouted. This shout didn't get them ready but instead made the whole group of them become even more panicked. The team of "professionally trained" bodyguards were yelping and running into each other, grabbing their belongings and getting ready to flee from the scene.

'Lockhart, let's go now! The others are already gone!' Reno hurried next to Tifa on his horse and urged her to go.

'Dear lord, it was such a _wrong_ and _stupid_ decision to let the merchants hire the bodyguards themselves!' Tifa looked at the pack of unorganized bodyguards and their frightened faces. She saw Priscilla and another man had jumped onto one of the horses and had escaped already! They were too weak and cowardly to fight!

'Tifa, we have to go now! They can block them a while! Let's go!' No longer waiting for Tifa to answer, Reno smacked Tifa's horse on the side, making her horse gallop quickly in the direction of the forests. Reno quickly followed behind her on his own horse.

Tifa turned her head and looked back. She could hear the shouts of the bodyguards and the clash of swords. She could also see that there were only about twenty bandits fighting, but they had come with such a tremendous and fearful momentum that it sent chills up her spine. The horses the bandits were riding on were much larger and stronger than theirs too. These bandits were definitely going to be hard to handle!

Tifa bit her lip worriedly. The troop was moving too slowly and the bandits would catch up very soon! She hurried to the group not too far ahead of her and shouted 'Abandon the cargo and carriages! We can't escape quickly if we keep them!'

Swiftly, Reno and the other merchant's grabbed swords and cut the horses free of the carriages they were pulling and continued to flee. But soon, Tifa realized that there was something wrong, suddenly there were bandits in front of them!

'Quick! Turn and head towards the valley!'

The whole troop immediately turned in the same direction and headed towards the valley they had just passed and hurried as fast as they could. However they found more bandits eagerly waiting for them.

'No! We're surrounded!' Reno saw bandits in front blocking the way to the valley and stopped his horse.

_It's too late!_

The whole troop was surrounded. There were at least eighty bandits and only twenty of them were fighting the bodyguards while the remaining sixty surrounded the whole troop. Not waiting any longer, the bandits started to attack the troop.

Arrows were shot from longbows and a few horses immediately fell down, Merchant's started screaming, yelling and running away. As more arrows were shot and horses kept falling no one dared to move anymore.

_Black leather pants, knee-length boots, V-collared white shirts and black cloaks…where are these bandits from? _Tifa thought to herself while looking at them.

_Normally, after killing the horses they start killing people, but why are they only trying to make us stop running away?_

Suddenly, Reno pulled her behind him protectively, trying to hide her in the troop and cut into her thoughts. It must not be discovered that she was actually a woman!

These bandits were strange, two of them had pulled some of the abandoned cargos towards the whole pack of bandits yet none of them had shouted in celebration! They seem to be waiting for something, or someone. Someone to come and give them commands on what to do. Suddenly, a young man with medium length silver hair came out from the pack of bandits and stared at the hostages.

'Who is your leader?' he asked sharply, his voice bearing an unfamiliar accent.

No one in the troop dared to answer him. Then suddenly, he pulled out his sword and with a flash, blood splattered on the floor and two heads rolled onto the ground. The heads belonging to two of the hostages, but still no one in the troop answered. The silver haired man was about to slash someone again when suddenly he stopped. He saw some of his companions had made way for someone else to come to the front. But then he too backed away and gave way to three people, all riding on black stallions. The middle one among the three was a blonde haired man with a lean muscular figure and deep blue eyes.

_The one leading in front must be the leader of the bandits. _Tifa quickly understood that this blue-eyed man and his two followers were different. They emitted a strong presence that all of them could feel. Tifa shivered.

'No one would tell me who their leader is!' The silvered haired man said as he looked up at the three men on black stallions.

'Kadaj, how many times have we told you that killing won't get you an answer.' The man with ruby eyes and long black hair climbed off his horse and looked at the silver head. Then the ruby eyed man swept his gaze amongst the troop of merchants and cleared his throat.

'You have entered a restricted territory. This is our land and as compensation we want your cargo and your money. Hand it to us now and no one else will be killed if you obey.' He said without emotion. He climbed back onto his horse and leaned over to whisper to his leader.

'Sir, didn't you say you need a servant? Why don't you choose someone from this troop?' The ruby eyed man looked at the troop. And the leader, hearing his words, quickly swept his gaze over the terrified troop and suddenly stooped and when met a pair of beautiful chocolate-wine eyes. He whispered back.

'The boy behind the red head has a pair of good eyes.'

The ruby eyed man climbed off his horse again and walked towards Tifa.

'You are lucky, boy. Our leader wants you to become his servant. Come with us.'

Seeing him walk closer, Reno pulled Tifa closely behind him and glared at the man.

'You cannot take him away.'

The ruby eyed man didn't stop coming, he grasped Tifa's hand and pulled her away from Reno. Tifa struggled to get out of the mans hold on her, but he was too strong and she ended up being dragged towards the blue-eyed man.

'Let go of him, right now!' Reno pulled out his sword and ran towards the man. The man swiftly dodged his attack and landed a kick on Reno's chest, sending him flying onto the ground, blood coming from his mouth.

Tifa gasped at the sight and tried to run to Reno, but she didn't manage a meter before she was pulled back. The man then pushed her to the side of his leader's horse and his blue eyes studied her carefully, silence dragging on.

'This child is beautiful.' The other man, dark haired man finally spoke. Tifa's eyes widened at the language they were speaking.

_Wolvish! They're no bandits! They're the Wolves from the West!_

The leader raised Tifa's chin with the handle of his whip and bent down, wanting to look at her even more closely. He stared at her, his eyes seeming as if they were looking right through her. She turned her head sideways, no longer wanting to look into striking ocean blue eyes.

'Beautiful.' The blue-eyed man whispered and his eyes shimmered with understanding. He smirked and pulled Tifa onto his horse.

This action shocked many of his people. Even his two closer followers sucked in a deep breath. They knew their leader was not fond of men, but wondered why he was behaving like this?

Tifa struggled fiercely, trying to escape. She dared not speak now as her frightened voice would definitely give her disguise away. Tifa realized, however, that this man suspected her. His knowing look spoke as much. The reason why he pulled her onto his horse was so that he could get more proof. Tifa was actually quite tall for a woman, but even facing a man as tall and as strong as this Wolf, he must have a reason to suspect her.

The blue eyed man quickly grasped both of her hands firmly with only one hand and the other went under her shirt and towards her chest…

'No! Stop!'

'Argh!' Immediately, Reno stood up again, grabbed his sword and ran towards the leader. Quickly, the dark haired man jumped down off his horse, blocked Reno's attacks and knocked him out. The leader glanced at Reno and then back to Tifa.

'Is he your man?' The leader had released his grip on Tifa's shirt and then whispered in her ear.

His meaning was clear. If she were to say yes, Reno would die. If she said no, Reno would live. Tifa decided not to answer.

'You have only two choices.' He whispered into her ear. 'One, become the slave girl of the whole troop…or two, become my own personal one…'

Tifa slapped him across his cheek.

_How dare he..?_

The leader immediately darkened and his blue eyes shimmered with anger. Everyone around them held their breath.

She would rather die than to be humiliated in this way. And she didn't want to be killed by the dirty hands of this man either! She quickly pulled the dagger strapped around his waist and tried to plunge it into her heart…but the leader was faster and he knocked her out before she did so.

Tifa passed out in the arms of this blue-eyed leader and her cap came off of her head. Long locks of soft brown hair tumbled down and danced in the wind.

'…She is one hell of a beauty.' The dark haired man murmured.

'Such a feisty woman…' The leader looked at her unconscious form and then looked at the ruby eyed man.

'Vincent, sent these merchants away.' Then he turned to another, spiky haired man.

'Angeal, count the cargos and bring them back.'

Without waiting for their reply, he kicked his horse lightly and off he sped, his troop following him, with a beauty in his arms.

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><p>Sorry it took so long. Some problems delayed my update!<p>

COME ON! GIVE ME REVIEWS AND I"LL GIVE YOU CHAPTER 3!

Beta-reader: xPhiieebeex-ayannaaki (Thank you so much!=) )


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

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><p>Endless shimmering stars added specks of white into the endless navy blue on the high plateau of the Gold Saucer north boundary. Strong wind swept across the great plain and howled her loneliness to the cool, dry air. Whirls of sandy dust tumbled along the sparse grass of the unfertile earth and rammed into dirty, white felt covers of a crowd of yurts. They were closely packed, forming a large white circle in the moonlit plain. A fierce wolf head sign was stitched to every drape entrance to the yurts with thick, black thread. The exquisite fabric handicraft symbolizes the strongest and largest tribe in the West, one of the greatest enemies of the Shinra kingdom, the Wolves. Yurts remained dim white under the ebony sky as most of them were resting, except the slightly larger one in the middle of the pack. Dim candle light shone through the thick cover walls, the shade of shadowy yellow looked somehow attractive and calm in the great circle of dim white. One of them is still awake.<p>

A large, round oriental carpet with symmetrical patterns, woven with dark warm threads by the delicate hands of Far East craftsmen, laid in the middle of the candlelit yurt. Another piece of dark fur was laid on top of the carpet, offering warmth and comfort. On top of all was Cloud Strife, reading documents spread on the carpet floor and constantly glancing at the unconscious woman on his large, cotton-stuffed temporary bed. Her dirty clothes were all removed and a white-furred blanket covered her, providing warmth to her naked body. Her skin was like the virgin snow. She was incredibly white and delicate, and also smooth as newborn infants.

Looking at her, Cloud smiled slightly. The storm today has stopped them from moving and they had to camp in the wilderness for the night. His thoughts wandered off to the issues his tribe and her country have encountered lately. He originally thought the trading troop today were emissaries in disguise that were to deliver confidential documents to the Crows. The Shinras have been rather sneaky in politics lately and tried to reconcile with the Crows secretly to defeat the Wolves. The Shinras, after experiencing a war era and a flourishing decade, was starting to decline again under the weak rule of Rufus Shinra.

Meanwhile, the Wolves have strengthened into a massive strong tribe. Every step the Shinra king took was under the watch of glowing, blue eyes. Cloud smirked. It was, in fact, of no importance whether they could find the confidential documents or not. It would not affect the strength of the Wolves even if the documents were delivered safely into the hands of the Crows. The Wolves are now too strong to be defeated.

The Crows were infamous for their crafty political strategies. Their leader refused to submit to the Shinras, but yet they expressed their loyalty to the Wolves and used any way to bribe the latter. They coveted after the large amounts of jewellery and treasuries the Shinras offered for reconciliation, yet at the same time they informed the Wolves that the Shinras were sending emissaries to the North. The Crows were trying to obtain benefits from both sides. Cloud gave a cold smirk again. He picked up the documents on the floor and burned them with a candle. The raid today could act as a warning to the Shinras and the Crows that the Wolves could do what they desired and would never be controlled by any other tribe. Of course, the cargos and items they obtained could supply them for months, but he had never expected that he was able to bring a woman back, let alone forming an urge of possession towards her.

Standing up, Cloud slowly walked towards his bed and sat on it. He leaned towards the unconscious beauty and examined her closely. An exquisite piece of white jade was hung around her neck by a red piece of thread, the small word "_Lockhart_" was carved into the piece of jewellery.

_Lockhart?_

The Wolves knew about the Lockharts. The Lockharts controlled the Southern economic pulse of the Shinra kingdom. If they crushed the Lockharts, the Shinra family would definitely encounter a massive economic chaos. Then, the Shinras could never bribe and reconcile with the Crows through offering wealth.

Cloud brushed away a lock of soft, brown hair of the beauty's forehead and tucked it behind her ear. The candle light shone a dim yellow hue on her flawless face. Ocean blue eyes admired her carefully. Long lashes, delicate brows, petite nose and pink, soft lips formed one of the most beautiful Eastern faces he had ever seen. He had met and seen women from the Far East, but never from the South of Shinra. The women from the Wolves were tall and well-built, a characteristic for them to adapt to the harsher environment in the West, along with beautiful curves and gorgeous faces. However, this woman in front of him had more delicate features, fairer skin. His gaze slowly trailed down to her body. Her wondrous figure was covered by his blanket. He knew simply by looking.

She was the first person and the first woman who dared to slap him across the face in front of his troop. She had given him the greatest humiliation in his life. He should have killed her for her feisty actions but even she tried to kill herself with his dagger before he had the chance to wrap his fingers around her neck- She'd rather kill herself than to be killed by him. Instantly, she'd captured Cloud's interest. He wanted her to be his because of his strong attraction to her beauty, her personality and her mysterious background.

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><p>'Cloud?' A voice called him from outside his yurt and cut him off of his thoughts.<p>

'Come in.' He sat up straight and looked at the figure entering.

Angeal walked proudly inside, an old woman named Elmyra following close behind him. Looking at the unmoved dinner on the table, Angeal figured that the girl was still unconscious.

'Is she alright? She's not hurt in any place else, is she?' Elmyra asked, walking towards the bed and looking at Tifa, her old dark eyes showing concern.

'Cloud might've given her a heavy blow in the neck when he knocked her out.' Angeal took a glance at the unconscious woman's wrists. They were still red from the harsh grasps when they captured her. He never believed that women from Shinra were that fragile and delicate until he saw it with his own eyes today.

'She should be awake soon.' Cloud gave Angeal an irritated glance and stood up, obviously a little discontent that Angeal showed a lot of concern about the sleeping beauty. Angeal quickly backed away, him and Elmyra following Cloud as he led the way out of his yurt.

'Did you count how many stocks and items we have acquired? And did Vincent send the troop away?' Cloud turned around to face them, his blue eyes glowing in the dark.

'We have enough to last five months if we include the carriages of stock we've taken beforehand. There will be enough food and clothing for everyone back in the den. Vincent sent the troop back the way they came from. It seems that they came from the Nibel Area. Nibelheim, I think.'

…_Nibelheim…Lockhart__…__She__'__s really the controller of the Southern Shinra economy?_

'Another thing. The Chief wants you to return within a month to present to the Queen Dowager in the North Palace. You can leave the matters here to me or Vincent. The Chief hopes that you can focus on the Eight-tribal Chief election at the end of the year. You know, Corneo of the Gongaga Wolf Pack wants more than to be the eight-tribal chief.'

Angeal was from the Gongaga Wolf Pack however his heart strongly remained loyal and faithful to the Strife Wolf Pack.

Cloud listened to Angeal's report and nodded his head. There were three months left until the end of the year. Every leader of the eight packs of Wolves was ambitious to become the eight-tribal Chief. The Strife Wolf Pack had been the main pack and the pure blood family of the whole tribe and had strengthened the Wolves tremendously. Each Wolf pack became stronger and richer, but ironically it was the Strife's that encountered inner political trouble.

Throughout all these years, the Chief of the Strife's had also acquired the post of the eight-tribal Chief, but suddenly the Chief dowager announced that the post should now be selected among the Chief's of the eight Wolf packs. This action was to sooth the discontent of the other packs due to the complaint that the Strife's had not appreciated their abilities in helping the tribe and used Shinra men in political affairs instead of their own people.

'To prevent internal split, this change has to be done. The Wolves are loyal, faithful and united as a whole, but there are still ambitious Chiefs that try to obtain more than they can have.' Angeal furrowed his brows. The Strife's must not let the post fall into the hands of greed.

'Cloud…'

'Go and have some rest. I have my own intentions.' Cloud then turned and headed towards his other followers. Stopping, he turned back and faced Angeal.

'I'm going to tell the others we'll move at dawn tomorrow. Bring the girl something to wear, Elmyra.'

'Yes, sir.'

* * *

><p>Long lashes fluttered open.<p>

_Where am I?_

Tifa squinted her eyes and focused on her surroundings. She was in a large round yurt. A large black fur rug was spread comfortably on the ground and there were some papers on the floor. There was a large wooden trunk at the side of the yurt, open and showing shirts and clothing. Next to it was a stand, hanging a large black cloak. In the middle of the yurt was a low pentagon-shaped table, with silk cased cushions placed on each side. The yurt was brightened dimly by two dying candles, which were standing on a low bed stand at the sides of the yurt. Although the yurt was simply set up, it showed prestige and power.

Tifa pushed herself up from the bed and closed her eyes tightly when she felt pain coming from her neck. Then she remembered everything. She remembered being surrounded by black cloaked men. She remembered running away. She remembered blue eyes. Tifa gasped softly in surprise as she discovered she was naked under the covers. She quickly pulled the white furry blanket to cover herself and at the same time, someone entered.

_It__'__s him!_

She tried to look calm and cool but she couldn't, not when she was completely naked before a stranger. Tifa grasped the blanket tightly until her knuckles went white. She looked at him cautiously and started to draw herself back to the top of the bed, away from him. She bit her lip nervously until it nearly drew blood, while the man, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying himself with her actions.

He slowly walked towards her, just like a wolf hunting its prey, and stood at the edge of the bed. Smiling smugly, he crossed his arms around his chest, his glowing blue eyes eyeing her figure up and down devilishly. Tifa shivered under his gaze but glared back at him, trying to show that she was not afraid of him.

Suddenly, he leaned forward towards her, his hands pressing onto the bed and trapping her in front of him. Tifa sucked in a deep breath. His face was nearly touching hers, his scent all around her, his breathing on her lips, just like light feather kisses, seducing and tempting her.

'Hello.' Cloud smiled naughtily at her.

Tifa quickly turned away from him but he was faster. He cupped her chin tightly with one hand.

'Do not turn away from me.' Ocean blue stared into chocolate wine. He looked as if he could see right through her with those glowing eyes.

Tifa closed her eyes tightly and struggled fiercely, kicking and hitting him hardly but he didn't't even budge. It was like hitting her fists onto a hard wall, and she ended up hurting herself instead. She had to stop him from getting closer to her. She raised her hand and slapped his face again, harder than before when they first met.

Cloud widened his eyes in shock and he bared his teeth at her. He touched his stinging face before grabbing her wrists, his grip strong and painful. Tifa kept on struggling and bit her lip to prevent making any noise because of the pain in her wrists he was inflicting. She did not want to show weakness in front of this man.

He tightened his hold on her wrists, strong enough to break her bones and held them above her head. He was hoping that she would surrender herself to him but obviously she was going to do anything but that. His gaze uncontrollably went down to her voluptuous body. Her previous struggling made her blanket fell onto the ground and in front of him now was the ravishing scene of a naked beauty. The rage in his blue eyes was now gone and sparkling with lust in the dim light. He ducked his head and was about to steal a kiss when she spoke.

'Is this how the Wolves treat a woman on their first encounter? Remove all their clothes and humiliate them?' Tifa struggled. She could withstand pain, but not this kind of humiliation.

_Is he trying to force himself on me? _

'This is our second encounter, to be exact.' Cloud raised his head a little to look at her. She looked angry and scared at the same time. He brought her wrists down to the sides of her head and kissed her on the cheek.

'I will release my hold if you promise not to escape or turn away from me.' Cloud looked at her flushed face.

'Don't touch me.' His actions were frightening her.

'Beg me.' He leaned closer and whispered into her ear, then looked her in the eyes. Tifa bit her lip and turned her head away, not wanting to accept his insult. His breath slowly wandered down her neck while he waited her reply.

'Don't touch me! You filthy man!' Tifa wanted to make him angry so he would kill her now, but his eyes did not show anger. His eyes looked at her devilishly.

'I have eighty men in this campsite who have not touched a woman for at least a month. If you don't beg for mercy, then prepare yourself to be a doll for the whole troop to play with. To kill you, I have better ways instead of using blades.'

'You…'

'I am the leader of the whole team of men. No one dares touch what belongs to me. If I announce to them that you are not mine, you will be dead within dawn.'

He could see the fear in her eyes now, and waited for her reply. He was at first just trying to tease, but this woman ticked him off and such words flew out of his mouth before he could think about it.

Just imagining the scene of eighty men made Tifa shivered with fright. He was a very horrible man! Threatening her with such humiliating things! His meaning was clear. If she obeyed him, she would be his personal slave, his personal doll. If not…

'Well?' He gathered her into his arms and pretended to throw her out of his yurt.

'Please! Please don't!' Tifa cried, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck, afraid that he would throw her to his men. He was driving her to the brink of insanity. He even had to crunch her dignity to pieces! She had never really hated anyone in her life - refused to hate anyone - but he was definitely an exception.

Tears fell down her cheeks and she buried her face into his neck, her hands on his back were held into fists and were hitting him endlessly. She knew he wouldn't feel any pain, but she couldn't control expressing her hate towards him.

Cloud suddenly felt pity for her and hearing her cry made his heart wrench. This feeling for her was new to Cloud and it made him feel strange. He never thought that a woman's tears could affect him so much. He was even feeling a bit ashamed of himself for teasing and saying such harsh words. He was too impetuous.

_Damn hormones… Control yourself, Strife!_

He cleared himself from these new emotions and put her on the bed. Then, he grabbed the clothes which Elmyra brought from the trunk and placed them next to Tifa. She looked up at him.

'Your clothes. Put them on.'

Tifa examined the pieces of clothing. She reached towards them and touched them. The fabric was soft and very thin, designed for travelling through desert or humid and hot areas. She looked up. Cloud was still watching her.

'Turn around!' She narrowed her eyes at him, but Cloud seemed unfazed by her glare.

'No.'

Tifa was angry, but the tears could not stop falling from her eyes. She wiped them away sadly and sobbed while pulling the bundle of clothes to herself. Cloud furrowed his brows and sat in front of her. Tifa quickly backed away, unsure what he was going to do. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he spun her around. Tifa reacted quickly.

'What are you…'

'Quiet and don't move.' Cloud reached for the silky piece of undergarment from her hands and helped her put it on from behind. He carefully tied the upper spaghetti thread behind her neck and another thread around her lower waist. The piece of silk in front hugged her torso tightly and hid her from nudity. Cloud then reached for the short pair of cotton shorts, reached under the blanket and slipped them onto her legs. He slid the pair of undergarments up her smooth, long legs, his fingers brushed slightly against her skin when he did so. Tifa clutched the hem of the shorts and pulled them up by herself when he reached her thighs. Cloud withdrew his hands and reached for a red shirt and slipped it onto her, smoothing out the black side-slit dress. Tifa glanced at the dress, it would most definitely show her legs. She was not used to such exposing clothing. Women of Shinra were conservative and not used to showing much skin.

'You will wear this. We don't have other clothes for women here with us.' Cloud informed her before turning away to reach for a rectangle box. Her clothes must've been dumped by now. Cloud walked back to her and opened the box. Inside was a pair of shoes, taken from a previous raid. He knelt on one knee, resting her foot on his thigh, and helped her put on shoes.

He had never helped people put on clothes before, but he did it so naturally for her. The feeling was foreign to him. It seemed her presence caused him to have lots of new feelings, and he knew that despite them only being together since the morning, he was already very attracted to her.

Tifa had stopped crying by this time. She thought, that after begging him not to throw her out, he would force himself on her. She was surprised that he didn't and was shocked that he was dressing her, even helping her to put on new shoes. Her hands were over her heart, watching him silently, and after he had finished helping her with her shoes, he looked up meet her gaze.

Tifa did not know why, but she couldn't look at him in the eyes anymore. She quickly looked away and could feel herself blushing…she didn't know how to react by now.

'How old are you?' He asked her quietly.

'Twenty-one' she replied softly. His gentle voice made her feel rather uneasy.

He cupped her face gently and made her look at him.

'Are you married or betrothed?'

'No…'

'Why not?'

Tifa didn't want to answer. She didn't want him to know her past. She lowered her gaze on the floor, not wanting to look into his eyes.

'What is your first name, Lockhart?'

'…'

'Answer me.'

'…Tifa.'

'Tifa…'

'Look at me.' he ordered.

Chocolate-wine poured into ocean blue.

'I am Cloud Strife, your master.'

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><p>Okay, here's Chapter 3. Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm glad that most of you are still interested in reading the story.<p>

I know, short chapter but I gave more details~~~~~~~~ AND it's best to end the chapter this way, I think.

I will update as soon as I can, or maybe I'll update when the reviews reaches 50 or so. lol yea i'm sneaky!;)

It's just to give me more time to plan the story and present it in the best way for you people to enjoy!

And I've been rather busy lately with diplomas and stuff it's nearly gonna make my brain burst.

WELL, JUST PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE gimme a review and I'll give you Chapter 4.

_Xie-xie! (thank-you in Mandarin) & Dor-che! (thankyou in Cantonese)_


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone! I am sooooooo sorry that this took me so long! I had this chapter done for a long time already but I had some problems connecting with my beta-reader, so this chapter is NOT YET proof-read! I am going to university this September, so everything's quite a mess for me! I had to pack and move into the hostels, participate in loads of compulsory orientation camps and adapt to the new environment! The whole August was like a roller-coaster ride for me! Anyway, enjoy the raw chapter first! Please forgive my grammar and stuff! I'll try to get the revised version up as soon as I could find my beta-reader! AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS!

Chapter 4

'_I am Cloud Strife, your master.'_

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><p>Dark wine eyes shot open and Tifa Lockhart bolted up from the soft cotton bed. Sweat beads rolled down her spine and drenched the burgundy shirt she was wearing. She bit her lip and fisted her hands into the blankets, shivering with shock. How could she fell asleep in such a dangerous place? Pushing her hair away from her face roughly, she kicked away the blankets but quickly pulled them to herself again when she realized a man was lying next to her. She gave a small gasp and backed away from him, tumbling off the bed and landed on her bottom as she did so.<p>

Hissing in pain she looked up and saw twinkling blues eyes smiling at her. Cloud rolled onto his side and rested his head on his hand while he looked at Tifa naughtily.

The side slit dress showed a delicious amount of skin when she landed on the floor. Looking at where the devil was staring, Tifa quickly covered her legs with the blanket and flushed with anger. She grabbed the nearest candle stand and threw it at him. Cloud caught the candle stand easily and placed it onto the smooth bamboo bed stand.

"Wh…what are you doing here?" Tifa scrambled up and backed away from him. She grabbed a bamboo stool and threw it at him again. Seeing him dodge away easily, she grabbed another candle stand and aimed it at him again.

"This is my yurt and this is my bed. Of course I sleep here. I certainly don't mind sharing my bed with you." Cloud winked at her and got up while catching the candle stand at the same time. He was only wearing his pants. Tifa looked away from him when she saw him topless. Quickly, she lowered her gaze and stared at her feet. She has been on journeys and saw topless men before, but even so she was still not used to seeing them. In Shinra, men were always fully dressed, and women never showed more than their faces and hands. Seeing her look away from him, he looked at himself.

"Are you shy?" Cloud teased her.

Flushing with anger, Tifa looked up and threw whatever she reached at him. She raised another bamboo stool above her head and was ready to throw when she caught something shimmering at the corner of her eyes. It was his belt and dagger. Cloud realized what has caught her eye too. Quickly, Tifa threw the stool at him, but Cloud dodged and both of them dashed for the weapon. Both of them took hold of the dagger and tumbled onto the floor. Not letting go, Tifa pushed herself up and straddled Cloud. She aimed the dagger at his throat and tried to push it into him. Cloud pushed her hands away from him and rolled to his side, taking Tifa with him. Tifa landed on her side and started kicking him. He pushed himself up and straddled her, while pulling the dagger from her hands. Tifa thrashed around and pulled the dagger to herself.

"Calm down!" Cloud pulled the dagger away from her forcefully. Once she released her grip, he threw the dagger away from them and held her hands at the sides of her head. The whole yurt was suddenly quiet, only their heavy panting could be heard. Cloud looked up at her. She was holding back her tears and panting heavily. Slowly, he pulled her hands together and placed them on her stomach while pushing himself up.

"What's gotten into you? Are you always like this towards men?" Cloud exclaimed. Hearing his words, Tifa started to thrash around again. Cloud tightened his grip on her wrists and held them in place.

"What do you mean am I always like that towards men? Who do you think I am? Let go of me!" Tifa pushed herself up and slammed her forehead to his. Not expecting such an attack, Cloud released his hold in surprise and held his forehead. Tifa quickly stood up and ran towards the exit. Pushing away the drape, she was about to step out when strong arms wrapped themselves around her and pulled her back into the yurt. Cloud hoisted her up slightly so she couldn't touch the floor. Tifa thrashed around again.

"Let go of me!" Tifa screamed and continued to thrash around. Ignoring her, Cloud reached for a small wooden container on the pentagon table. He flicked the lid open, whipped some of the tea-green balm onto his fingers and applied it onto her philtrum forcefully. Not knowing what he applied on her, Tifa held her breath and continued to push his arms away. Soon, she couldn't take it and inhaled a large breath of air. The smell of the balm filled her nostrils immediately and she quickly grew limp. Weakly, she pushed his arms away again, but end up leaning against him and her legs gave way. Cloud slowly dropped onto the ground with her and held her firmly. Tifa weakly struggled again, but Cloud wrapped her arms around herself and held her close to him. Tifa rolled her head back and leaned it onto his shoulder.

"What did you do to me?" She asked weakly.

"Trying to calm you down." Cloud murmured into her ear. Tifa shivered a little due to their closeness. Tifa struggled again, but gave up after he tightened his grip.

"Why are you doing this to me? I have done nothing to you." Tifa asked quietly.

"…I like you. I want you by my side." Cloud doesn't know how to explain. The feeling inside him was hard to explain.

"…...You are a wolf. I am a Shinran." Tifa dug her nails as deep as she could into his forearm, trying to hurt him as a little revenge.

"My name is Cloud Strife. You can call me Cloud." He rested his head onto her shoulder. "I like it when you're still and quiet like this." He brushed her hair to the side and caressed her neck.

"…I hate you."

"…I know, but I will never let you go."

Tears slid down her face and landed silently onto his arm. Blue eyes focused on the drop of tear. He hugged her even closer to him.

"I'm sorry, but I will never let you go, Tifa Lockhart."

There they stayed, him holding her close, until all the candles died out, until she drifted to sleep under the calming effect of the balm, until he tucked her into bed and slept next to her for the rest of the night.

* * *

><p>Tifa Lockhart woke up when she heard the voices of men at the entrance of the yurt. His yurt. She could see the silhouettes of three men on the entrance drape. She looked at the three silhouettes one by one. The one in the middle showed spiky hair. She closed her eyes tightly. She pushed her herself up and looked at the silhouettes again. The silhouettes changed shaped when one hand reached for the drape and pushed it aside. Tifa quickly flopped back into bed and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. She took a peek at who it was. It was the devil himself and an old woman. The old woman placed some clothes onto the low table, bowed to the blonde man and backed out of the yurt. She closed her eyes again when she heard shuffling of clothes.<p>

"Come over here, I know you are awake."

Not trying to pretend again, Tifa pushed herself up from the bed and eyed him cautiously. Cloud beckoned her to him with his index finger. She still didn't move.

"I'm not going to bite. Come over and help me dress." He picked up one of his shirts from the trunk and tossed it to her. Tifa didn't budge and continued to glare at him.

"Look, if I am going to do you any harm, I would have already done it when you're asleep. All I want you to do now is to help me dress." Cloud said while unbuttoning his shirt, not looking at her all along.

"Why can't you do it yourself, Strife?" Tifa gritted her teeth in frustration.

Hearing that she called him by his last name but not "Wolf", Cloud lit up and a smile began to form. Realizing that, he quickly suppressed the smile and turned to her.

"I wouldn't need a slave if I did this myself. Or, are you suggesting some other ways you can serve me?" Cloud looked at her straight in the eyes.

Tifa squinted her eyes a little and her heart wrenched in pain when she heard the word "slave". She threw a cushion at him and stood up. She marched towards him.

"I am never your slave." Tifa eyed him face to face.

"But you will do as I say. Or else…" He couldn't think of anything that can threaten yet not hurt her at the same time.

Thinking that he could really harm her, Tifa backed away from him and thought fast.

_If I obey him for the time being, I could keep myself safe and look for a way to escape. His men will not hurt me if I follow him around. I can observe my surroundings and runaway! Sacrifice a little for freedom._

"Well?" Cloud looked at her, wondering what she was thinking.

Hesitantly, she grabbed the shirt and went behind Cloud. She slid the sleeves of his shirt up his arms. Then she went back to the front and buttoned up his shirt. They were very close to each other. She could feel Cloud's intense gaze on her, his breathing steady and calm. Quickly buttoning up his shirt, she backed away from him and looked at her feet, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"Aren't you going to tuck my shirt?"

Tifa looked at him in frustration. He stood there with an innocent look on his face, just like a little boy, but she could see the devilish glint in his blue eyes.

Tifa crossed her hands and looked to the side stubbornly. Although this was part of her plan, she still couldn't accept she is now his…

"It is your duty to serve me, so come here and tuck my shirt." Cloud stood there with his arms raised up a little, waiting for her to come and help him. Tifa blew her hair out of her face and stomped her way to him. She started tucking his shirt in his pants roughly, her fingers brushing his waist while she was doing her task. She tucked the front and the sides, and then her arms snaked around his waist to tuck the back. She was very close to him, almost hugging his waist in this position. She could feel his breathing above her. She saw him smirking mischievously at her and quickly pulled away from him, but she was stopped when his hands went behind her and pulled her towards him. He cupped her chin and kissed her fully on the lips. Shocked, Tifa struggled and put her hands on his chest to shove him away, but he was too strong. She could feel him smiling against her lips and that made her angrier. She hit him hardly on his chest but he still didn't let go of her. Soon, she got tired and gave up struggling. Cloud noticed this and broke the kiss soon after she stopped struggling. Tifa was flushed and was breathing heavily, her lips red and swollen from the kiss. Cloud simply looked at her and smiled. He loved how she looks. He flashed her a gorgeous smile and released her. Tifa backed away from him after he let go of her and tried to slap him, only to find herself slapping air.

"You filthy…" Tifa couldn't find any more words to describe this horrible man.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself. Change and pack up the things now. We'll be leaving soon." He winked at her and left the tent. Tifa blushed angrily at his wink. She was furious at him, kissing her all of a sudden! She touched her lips lightly. It was her first kiss. And that devil stole it from her. Angrily, she shoved the clothes lying around into the trunk and started packing.

_If he goes any further, I'll kill him before I go!_

* * *

><p>Morning routine for Tifa Lockhart was to dress him, serve breakfast and wash clothes in the nearby river. They have travelled along the river for the past few days. It would be easy for her to escape as she could follow the river back to the edge of the deserts. Every morning, she has to wash his clothes in the freezing water and follow him around for the rest of the day. He always tried to show her what he usually does and show her what he likes. He showed her his horse, Fenrir, and showed her how he trained his men. She understands that he was trying to let her know more about him, but she was not interested at all. She sometimes drives him crazy when she quarreled with him, but he would calm down very quickly and kiss her hard as a punishment. He never made her work hard. Even if she had to work, all she had to do was to wash his clothes and serve him food.<p>

Today, they have travelled for the whole morning, and Tifa Lockhart had to do nothing. She stayed with the old woman on the food carriage, not wanting to ride next to Cloud. The old woman would talk to her sometimes, but mostly about obeying Cloud.

"You are his woman. You should listen to him and trust him. He treats you nice, yet you always anger him."

Tifa shook her head.

"He is a devil. I will never trust him. He took me away from my land, my family. I will never forgive him."

The old woman frowned a little and shook her head. She had never seen their leader so patient with a woman before. He was treating her well, yet she hates him still.

_Are all Shinra women like this?_

* * *

><p>There were only four women in the troop of Wolves. There's her, the old woman who cooks for the men, and two other women who suddenly came from the Crow's borders that joined the troop two days ago.<p>

Tifa Lockhart realized what they do and why they joined the troop from the very beginning once she saw them. She never saw such skimpy clothing worn by any women she had met. She have seen women from brothels in Shinra when she disguised herself as a man to discuss trading businesses, but they never wore such skimpy clothing in front of anyone, not like these two women. The men built a pink tent a few feet away from the temporary campsite for the two and many of them would queue up outside the pink tent at sunset, after they had finished their training. Tifa felt disgusted by the women's behavior, but the two women sarcastically thought she was no better than them. Tifa could see their thoughts from the glares they sent her every now and then. They were even jealous of her, for she was especially for the leader.

Indeed, Tifa Lockhart thought she was no better than the two prostitutes. She has been kidnapped for four days now. He didn't do anything to her, yet he slept with her on the same bed every night and she could not do anything about it. Sometimes she even finds herself in his embrace, due to the cold harsh weather. They have long left the desert areas and have now entered the Western boundary. Weather was much harsh and cold here. Even the warmest blanket and fur couldn't compare to his body warmth, especially when she felt cold. Her body would uncontrollably cuddle towards him in the middle of the night. She hated herself for that, and she hated him for making her share his bed, yet she could do nothing about it. That night, she even tried to force herself to stay awake and turn her back towards him at night.

Every night after hunting, Cloud would sit at the pentagon table and do a bit of reading, and then he would blow out the candles by midnight. He could feel it every time Tifa turn away from him and try to resist. He could feel that she was trying not to cuddle to him because of the cold. Seeing her like this, Cloud would turn her around and whisper to her.

"If you don't want to sleep, we can find something else to do."

Although he never really did anything to her after these words were out his mouth, she would always try to go to sleep, afraid of what he might really do if she angered him at night. Fortunately, she had already understood the daily routines of this man. The only time she could escape was when he was at training with his men near sunset.

Patrols around the campsite will be shorter and most of the men will be training with him. The only thing she needs to do is to tolerate a little longer and find the right moment to escape. The past few days have been rainy and it would be a disadvantage for her if she escaped. The rain would slow her down. She hope it wouldn't rain tomorrow.

_Father…Yuffie…Reno…_

Tifa closed her eyes tightly.

_Tomorrow._

* * *

><p>The whole troop started to move at dawn. Cloud had mentioned something about returning to the "den" last night while she was drifting to sleep. She must escape tonight or it'll be much harder to runaway once they've reached their den. Tifa pulled the fur scarf tighter around her neck. It was very cold once they've entered the West. Her face was rosy from the cold and she couldn't stop sniffing because of her runny nose. Cloud has wrapped his cloak around her since this morning when they left, but still it wasn't warm enough for her. She couldn't adapt to the cold environment here.<p>

After a few hours, Cloud stopped the troop for a rest. Tifa hopped off the carriage and headed towards the river. She pulled out a small towel and dipped it into the ice cold water. Her hands were dirty from travelling for so long. She finished washing her hands with the towel, only to find him standing right behind her.

"Stop scaring me like that!" She covered her hand over her heart, obviously surprised by Cloud.

"Why didn't you ride next to me? Next time I shouldn't let you ride with Elmyra. You should ride with me on Fenrir."

"…I don't want to ride with you." She puffed out cold air, her teeth chattering from the cold. Seeing her cold, Cloud pulled her towards him and hugged her tightly, his body warmth warming her up.

"You should follow me closely to see if I needed anything. You should hand me a towel when I'm sweating, pour me water when I say I'm thirsty, give me a hug and a kiss when I'm feeling bad…and so on." Cloud winked at her and bent to kiss her hand.

Tifa scowled at his action and withdrew her hand away from his lips before he could kiss it.

"Well, if you don't need anything right now I should go away, Master Strife." Tifa said sarcastically. She pushed him away and hurried past him but was blocked by his arm.

"Who said I didn't need anything? Bring me my water." Cloud winked and walked away from her and head towards the troop again.

Tifa scowled at him and turned back to the river fetch him a bowl of water. She was pouring water into a bowl when the two women approached her. One of them wearing a red flimsy dress was called Scarlet and the other in a purple dress was called Elena.

"Is the leader too strong and rough for you? I bet he's too rough that you could hardly last one more night with him!" Scarlet tried to speak in Shinra so that Tifa could understand.

"Oh please, Scarlet. Look at her. She's so thin and pale. How could she serve the leader well? I'm sure the leader will come to us soon. Seriously, we've been to a lot of places and we have never met anyone as handsome as him!" Elena pushed Scarlet's shoulder and exchanged glances and both of them giggled.

Gripping the bowl of water tightly, Tifa suppressed her anger and walked away from them. How dare they compare her to themselves!

"Hey! Stay here!"

The two women blocked Tifa's way, not wanting to let her go.

"What do you want?" Tifa glared at the two of them.

"Stop pretending. You're just a bitch. The leader will soon lose interest in you and throw you into our little pink tent too!" Scarlet raised her hand and was about to slap Tifa…

"Stop!"

It was Barret. Cloud has introduced him to her when he took her to see him train. He was suspicious of the two Crows and followed them to see if they were up to anything bad, only to find them harassing the leader's woman.

Not wanting to stay near the two women any longer, Tifa hurried back to Cloud.

* * *

><p>"Your water." Tifa shoved the bowl in Cloud's hands roughly, making some of the water spill out of the bowl. Cloud drank from the bowl while examining Tifa carefully. She seemed to be angry. Very angry. She didn't seem to be that angry when she went to fetch him water. Tifa turned and walked away from him. She sat onto the carriage and hugged her knees. Before he could walk over to her, Barret marched towards him and told him what had happened.<p>

"Kick the two women out. Do not let them follow."

"Yes sir."

Barret went away and Cloud walked to Tifa. He could tell that she was very upset.

"Barret told me what happened. I told him to kick the two sluts away." He sat down next to Tifa. Tifa didn't look at him. She didn't talk either.

"If you're so upset, I don't mind giving you a kiss to make you feel better." He pretended to lean in for a kiss but it was a wrong move. Tifa pushed him away and glared at him, with angry tears in her eyes. She stood up and began to walk away but Cloud grabbed her hand and stopped her from doing so. She flung his hand off of hers but Cloud stood and gripped her by the shoulders.

"Just let go of me!"

"Look, I told Barret to kick them away. They're not going to insult you anymore. Why are you still so angry?" Cloud was getting a bit annoyed at how Tifa was acting. He was being nice, but why was she still so resistant?

"Yes! I am angry! I'm angry because they were right! I'm just a slave of yours and you can fling me into their pink tent whenever you want to! I'm…a slave now…and later I might become something like them…I can't take this anymore!" Tifa started sobbing. She doesn't want her life to be controlled by Cloud.

"I'm not going to throw you into the pink tent! Why are you thinking such stupid things?" Who said he was going to throw her away to other men?

"You are the master! You can do anything you want with me! I don't want to be controlled by you! Let me go! Let me leave!" Tifa hit his chest with her fists and struggled. Cloud tightened his grip again and his eyes shimmered with anger.

"Stop your nonsense right now…"

"What? Are you going to kill me if I don't?" Tifa kept on struggling from his grip.

Cloud scowled and pulled Tifa towards him. He hugged her closely to him tightly so she couldn't struggle anymore.

"Listen, I am not going to throw you to some other men. Slave or not, you belong to me now and keep it in your mind. No one touches what is mine and don't you dare runaway. I will track you down and bring you back to me. You cannot escape from me. " He whispered into her ear hotly and pulled away. Tifa was still sobbing. He wiped her tears with his finger and took a step backward. Sighing, he turned around and headed back to the troop. Tifa watched at him walk away towards the place where his men are resting. She wiped her tears.

She couldn't stand it anymore. She will escape tonight.

* * *

><p>OKAY...here's Chapter 4! REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS PLEASE!<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Hey guys! Sorry for not updating for a month! I was really busy with school and mid-term tests are coming up!

I couldn't find my beta- reader anywhere so** this chapter is not beta'd**. I've proofread it but I still might have a lot of mistakes in it...soooo...please tolerate with it! Esp. the grammar~!

Anyway! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter. It's not a very long one but hey! At least I managed to update it...^^.

**WARNING: This chapter may be a little uncomfortable for some readers.**

* * *

><p>Smooth, delicate hands slowly lit up a candle and the small flame of light penetrated through the darkness. Tifa placed the candle onto the birch candle holder gently, her fingers skillfully avoiding the hot melting wax and later covered the candle holder with the milky rice paper lampshade. Sighing, she dragged herself to the large sheepskin rug and lied down. She turned over to grab one of the small furry cushions under the low pentagon table and rested her chin and arms on top of it. She sighed again. She was waiting for the right time to come. The right time to escape. She looked at the entrance drapes and listened quietly. Barret was still outside the yurt guarding her. There he sat, on an old large wooden log, humming to himself one of the old Wolvish folksongs and tapping his foot at his own rhythm. The sun was setting, and Cloud had just led his men to train in the woods nearby. Tifa waited and waited.<p>

_Why isn't he leaving? _

Tifa was getting a little impatient. Normally at this time, Barret would leave and another man would come and guard at the yurt. He would usually leave before the other patrol has arrived. Tifa has observed him for days already. He was not a careful man. It would be easier to escape in that short period of time. She pushed herself up and walked towards the entrance drapes. Gently, she pushed the drapes aside a little so she could peek outside. He was still there. Suddenly, the drapes were pulled away and Tifa quickly backed away in surprise. She quickly sat onto one of the bamboo stools and looked at who it was. It was Elmyra. The old lady gave Tifa a warm wrinkled smile and placed a tray of food onto the birch table. Tifa moved towards her and looked at the food.

"The leader told me to cook some soup for you. He said that you were always cold. This is fish soup. I learnt the Shinran recipe for this soup. It's good for your body." The old lady spoke Shinran in a foreign tone and slowly placed a bowl onto the table. She picked up the lid on top and the rich aroma of the soup entered their nostrils. Tifa picked up the spoon and dipped it into the soup. The white, milky soup looked so delicious. Elmyra placed the other bowls of food onto the table as well.

"The leader said you can eat first if you are hungry. He will be training late tonight."

"…Thank you."

Elmyra smiled again and backed out of the yurt. Tifa watched her go and turned back to the food. She didn't want to eat anything. She looked at the soup. The old lady cooked the soup just like how the Shinrans did. Just like how her family and her country cooked for dinner every night. Slowly, she picked up the spoon and put it on the table and reached for the bowl. With both hands, she brought the bowl of soup to her lips and blew away the steam and heat. She took a sip, the rich soup gliding into her mouth and filling her taste buds with sweetness and warmth. Tifa closed her eyes and savored the taste. It tasted good, but it was still different from the soup and broth she had back in Shinra. This was not home.

Tifa placed the bowl onto the table slowly and stood. She walked towards the drapes and pushed it aside. Barret and the other Wolf had already switched places. Now the other man was sitting on the log, smoking and humming to himself. Nervously, Tifa turned and looked around the yurt. She walked towards the paper lamps and took off the paper shades. She blew out the candle and plucked it off of the candle holder. Slender fingers wrapped themselves around the candle stand. She then moved back to the entrance drapes. Clutching the thick wooden candle holder to herself, she took a deep breath. She has never attacked anyone in her life, but this time she must so as to leave this place. She peeked outside again. The man was poking at the fire while singing to himself. Quietly, Tifa stepped out of the yurt and crept towards him. The grass under her bare feet whispered gently as she stepped on to them and she was afraid that the man could hear her. Tifa stopped for a moment, but soon continued towards the man when he started a new song. She stood behind him and raised the candle holder. Her shadow shaded over the man and before the man could whip his head around, Tifa swung the thick wood at the side of his head and knocked him unconscious. Trembling, she dropped the candle holder and backed away. She didn't kill him, she knew, but she was still in shock that she had attacked someone from behind.

_Now is not the time to be in shock!_

Tifa shook her head. She took a deep breath and ran to where they had kept the horses. The cool wind blew at her and she pulled the collars of her upper garment tighter. She was only wearing her white undergarment underneath. She kept stepping onto the large, long sleeves of her upper garment and her long draping pants were slowing her down so she picked the trouser legs up to her thighs and ran, no longer caring about her indecent state. She ran towards one of the horses and startled it, making it stood and neigh loudly. Tifa grabbed its reins and hushed it, gently caressing its face and calming it down. The horse calmed down and Tifa quickly climbed onto it and kicked it, making the horse gallop in full speed. Tifa ducked low as they sped past the woods Cloud and his men were in and headed towards the river. Once they got to the river, they could find their way back by following the waters. Tifa panted heavily. She was excited and scared at the same time. Will she make it back to her family? She kicked the horse again and off they went into the dark wilderness.

The freedom she wanted was near, but danger was nearer.

* * *

><p>"Take this!"<p>

A young Wolf slammed his sword against his opponents' sword and pushed hard. His opponent just smirked and with a twist, he disarmed the young Wolf, sending his sword flying to the other side of the training site. Cloud sheathed his sword and strapped it onto his back.

"I could never win you!" The young man flopped onto the dirty ground and pulled at the grass around him. Cloud chuckled and pulled the young man up to his feet. He patted the young lad's shoulder.

"Practice more. You have improved much already." Cloud gave him another pat on the shoulder and walked past him. There were swords clashing and men shouting around them. Training was essential to keep his men strong. Cloud looked around to see how his men were doing. They had become stronger, yet still not strong enough to prevent conflicts in future. The Crows and the Shinrans are not their enemies, they're too weak be enemies for now but they may become strong again. Cloud looked up into the sky. It was already dark and the wind became cooler. He instantly thought if the beauty in his yurt was warm enough.

_Has Elmyra brought her the soup yet?_

_Did she wear the fur coat I gave her?_

_Has she eaten dinner? Will she wait for me?_

Cloud was lost in his own thoughts when suddenly a man came running towards him.

"CLOUD!"

Cloud quickly looked at who was running towards him. It was Cid. Cid was clutching his head painfully and yelling a string of colorful words.

"Cid, what is it? You are supposed to guard Tifa." Cloud furrowed his brows.

"That insane woman! She knocked me out with a candle holder and ran away!"

Cloud's eyes widened in shock. How could she run away like that? He grabbed Cid by the shoulders and shook him, ocean eyes eyeing Cid dangerously.

"Where did she go?"

"Damn it! I was knocked out! I don't know!" Cid couldn't stand Cloud's gaze and closed his eyes and yelled.

Cloud released him and quickly whistled. Quickly, Fenrir came galloping towards him. He climbed onto the black stallion and dashed off to the direction he thought Tifa may go.

_Damn it, Strife! Calm down! Think of where she may be heading!_

It was night time. Danger would be all over the place. Cloud's heart thumped wildly. He couldn't think properly. He couldn't imagine what will happen to the raven-haired beauty if she ran away at this time of the night. He was furious, worried and frustrated at the same time.

"Damn it!" Cloud cursed aloud. He closed his eyes and calmed down.

_The only place she would want to go is back to Shinra. Going back to Shinra means heading back to the east. The easiest way to head east is to follow the river!_

Cloud opened his eyes sharply and led Fenrir to the direction of the river. Off they sped into the darkness in a gust of wind.

…_Tifa!_

* * *

><p>Tifa sped along the river bank in the dark night. The full moon shone brightly in the navy blue night, giving them a better night vision of the surroundings around them. The horse has been galloping at a fast pace for quite a while now, so Tifa slowed it down, letting it have a little rest. She pulled the horse to a halt and climbed off the horse. Both of them needed water. Tifa pulled the horse to the river to let it drink and she herself cupped the water from the river and drank. Suddenly, something moved behind them and the horse neighed in alert and fright. Tifa quickly whipped her head around to see what it was. She could not see anything. The long grass near them whispered again and moved. Cautiously, she quickly climbed back onto the horse and sent them speeding off at a high speed. Tifa looked to her left and right. She couldn't see but she could sense something was near them. The horse kept panting as it ran and Tifa knew they were in danger. They kept running and Tifa looking around them. They soon entered a meadow and there were no longer tall grass to hide what was chasing them. Tifa looked at their sides and gasped. Five vicious wolves were hunting them. There were two on their left, one on their right and one behind them. The horse galloped for their lives, but the wolves were catching up on them. One suddenly jumped and nearly bit the hoof of the horse. Tifa screamed and ducked. Another leaped and gave the horse a deep, nasty scratch. The horse neighed in pain and stood, making Tifa drop onto the ground. Tifa quickly scrambled to her feet. The wolves were surrounding them. She picked up a heavy branch on the ground and swung it at the wolf which jumped at her. She hit the wolf, but another pounced at her and she could only duck. The horse had already ran away while she was being attacked. She backed herself to the trunk of a tree, desperately. She was going to die.<p>

The wolves were about to attack her when someone whistled. The wolves all stopped their attacks and backed away from Tifa. Tifa opened her eyes. There were a few torches lighting up the meadow and there were men shouting. Soon, a group of half-drunk men came over.

"Well, well, well, what have we got here?" A brown-haired man eyed Tifa up and down. One of the wolves went over to the man and nudged at his hand. The man petted the wolf on the head.

"Our doggy pals here managed to find us a young lady instead of food! Good doggy!" Another man shouted out. The whole group of men laughed and whistled.

Tifa widened her eyes in shock.

…_Bandits!_

The brown-haired man, which seemed to be the leader, walked up to Tifa and leaned close to her. He grinned lewdly at her while trapping her between him and the tree trunk. The other men whistled and hooted at the man's actions.

"Hello there, pretty thing. What are you doing wandering in the dark at this time of the night?" The man pressed himself against her and looked down at her, his eyes wandering on her body. Tifa clutched her collar and pushed him away. The man grabbed her by the arm and swung her towards the group of men. They grabbed her by the arms and pinned her down onto the ground. Tifa struggled fiercely and screamed.

"NO!"

The leader of the bandits slowly crouched down and looked at her.

"Oh my, you really are a pretty thing. You're really beautiful. I wonder how pretty you will be without wearing anything." The man nuzzled Tifa's neck and Tifa struggled.

"Let go of me!" Tifa pulled at her wrists but the men only tightened their grips.

"Not so fast! Why don't we have a little fun first?" The man grinned and looked at what Tifa was wearing. He reached towards the sash at Tifa's waist and slowly pulled it. The other men hooted and cat-called at their leader's actions. Soon, he untied the sash and with his dagger, he flipped open Tifa's upper garment, revealing the white undergarment she wore beneath. The man slid his dagger in between Tifa's skin and the string of her undergarment tied to her neck. Slowly, he began cutting the string and all the men were shouting in excitement. Tifa closed her eyes tightly and tears began falling. The strap was cut loose, and only the string tied at her back was holding her undergarment to her body now. The man reached behind her back and pulled it loose as well, and Tifa dared not struggle, as one movement would lead her to nudity. The man left her undergarment on her body first, not pulling it away from her yet, his malice actions torturing Tifa and exciting his men even more. He began tugging at Tifa's trousers, pulling it down to her ankles and revealing her undergarment. He travelled his hands up the sides of her milky thighs and stopped at the strings tied at her hips. He pulled at one of the strings, loosening it, and planted a sloppy kiss on Tifa's hip. Tifa sobbed and buckled her legs.

"Damn it, you're making me hard!" The man quickly unbuckled his trousers and the other men were shouting in excitement when suddenly a dagger was thrown from a far distance and dug itself into the back of the brown haired man's head. The man died instantly, falling to the side. The men holding Tifa released their grip in surprise. Tifa quickly hugged herself to hide herself. A large sword was swiped at the group of men before they could locate their enemy and two heads belonging to the bandits came off. Tifa looked up at the attacker with teary eyes. It was Cloud. He had come for her. Cloud jumped off Fenrir and pulled his other buster sword out. The group of men and their wolves charged at him. The first wolf leapt at Cloud but was slashed in the chest before it could reach Cloud. Cloud dodged a dagger and grabbed the dagger at the tip and sent it flying back into its owner's chest. Another wolf pounced onto him, giving Cloud a nasty gnash, but Cloud kicked it away and quickly stabbed it to death. He dodged an attack from a fat man and slashed at his stomach. The other bandits charged at Cloud but all were slashed down by him. The wolves backed off when Cloud shot them a deadly look with his glowing cat-like eyes. Wild basic instincts tell them this man was not to be messed with. The remaining bandits all scurried away, leaving Tifa and Cloud alone again in the wilderness.

Tifa looked up at Cloud. She could see his furious eyes. She lowered her gaze and hugged herself tightly. Cloud stomped towards her and knelt in front of her. He grabbed her at the shoulders and was about to yell at her when he saw the tears at the corners of her eyes and her indecent state. Cloud sighed and ran his hand through his hair frustratingly. He took off his coat and wrapped it around Tifa, covering her.

"Have you lost your mind? You could've got yourself! What the hell were you doing? Those bandits were nasty bastards that could torture you to death!" Cloud whispered fiercely at her. Tifa could only sob. Cloud sighed.

"Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?" Cloud looked at her to see if she was injured, but Tifa only shook her head.

"…Let's go back." Cloud picked Tifa up and carried her to Fenrir. He placed her onto the black stallion and climbed up behind her. Slowly, he pulled Tifa into his embrace and sped off back to their site.

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><p>It was past midnight when they've returned to the site. Vincent and Angeal were waiting for them. They did not even have the time to think when Cloud sped off in front of them and was unable to track them down due to the rain the wind. Once they saw Cloud entering the site, they hurried towards him. They were about to ask when was going on when Cloud raised a hand to silence them. They backed away in respect and watched as Cloud carried Tifa off Fenrir. Cloud motioned them to leave and they could only obey.<p>

Cloud carried Tifa into his yurt and gently put her onto the bed. He quickly passed her some clothes and turned his back at her. Looking at his actions, Tifa quickly stood and changed. Meanwhile, Cloud tore off his shirt, showing and nasty gnash at his arm and back. He grunted in pain and flexed his muscles a little to feel how bad it was. Tifa gasped and looked at his injuries. She felt scared, guilty and horrible. How stupid and naive of her to escape just like that. She made him injured. Timidly, she placed a candle near Cloud and poured water into a wooden basin. She dipped a cloth into the water and wringed it. Cloud turned to see what she was doing. Biting her lip, Tifa knelt next to him, and gently dabbed the cloth at his wounds, cleaning them. Cloud stared at her. Her side-face was perfect under the glow of the warm candle light. However, Cloud was still angry. He moved his arm away from her and looked away.

"Just go to sleep. I don't need your help."

Tifa bit her lip again. He was furious at her. She felt really bad for what she did. Running away was supposed to be right, yet the consequences made her feel terrified and guilty. She slowly moved near him again and reached for his arm. Cloud flinched at her touch.

"I said…"

"I'm sorry…"

Cloud forgot what he wanted to say.

"What?"

"I said…I'm sorry." Tifa dabbed at his wounds gently and whispered. She looked at Cloud in the eyes, showing her sorrow and fright. Cloud's glare softened at her apology.

"You could've been hurt, and those bastards might've…" Cloud closed his eyes and tightened his fist. He couldn't imagine what it will be like if he was one minute late to rescue her.

"I did not treat you bad. Why do you have to escape? Why are you doing this to me? I am treating you well, am I not?" Cloud questioned. He did not understand why Tifa wanted to leave him so much. It would be the dream of the women in his Wolf pack if he treated them as nice as he did to her. He caught her, she's his. Isn't this right?

"…I'm sorry." Tifa did not answer. She didn't know how to answer. All she could say was "sorry".

Cloud lowered his gaze onto her actions of wrapping the bandage around his arm, her hands brushing his skin every now and then. Both of them were silent, with Cloud staring at her and her treating his wounds. Cloud was starting to feel sad as he could not make Tifa happy when suddenly a small whisper entered his ear.

"Thank you…for saving me."

Cloud widened his eyes at what Tifa had said. She was thanking him! The corner of his lips lifted a little.

"…You're welcome."

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><p>Reviews please! The more reviews I get, the quicker my updates will be! hehe!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Merry Christmas! This is my present to all of you. ;)

I am now again searching for a beta-reader. Anyone interested please leave a review and let me know! Thanks.

Again, not yet proofread but I guess I've kept you guys waiting long enough already.

I used italics to show communication in Wolvish and some thoughts of characters ...just to let you guys be clear.

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><p>"<em>You bitch!" <em>

Wolvish was harsh on the young silver-haired man's tongue andTifa was thrown onto the dirty ground. The wooden basin she was holding rolled away from her, the cold water seeping into the thin soil. She grunted in pain, her elbow numb from the strong impact. She didn't have time to scramble up when the silver-haired man grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up ruthlessly. She scrunched her eyes in pain and gasped as the strong hand wrapped itself around her slender neck. Tifa struggled and grabbed onto his arm, her nails digging into his skin. She opened her eyes and stared into raging green eyes. The menace from him was killing her. The man again threw her onto the ground with great strength. He pulled out his dagger and climbed on top of Tifa. He turned Tifa's face towards him roughly and raised his weapon.

"_You seduce my leader. You are the one who made him hurt. Your face should be wrecked. You will no longer seduce him." _Tifa widened her eyes as the dagger lowered itself towards her face. Her head was hurting and dizzy from his attacks, the Wolvish she cannot fully interpret sending shivers up her spine. The sharp blade touched the side of her face and she heard people around her shouting and yelling. She closed her eyes in defeat. The man on top of her added pressure on to the dagger, and she started to feel the coldness of blood trickling down her cheek. Before Kadaj could give Tifa a strong slash, he was grabbed by the neck and thrown off of her. He flipped backwards and stood up, yet he encountered a strong punch to the side of his face before he could defend himself. He gave a roar of pain and rage and scrambled up immediately. He covered the side of his bloody face with one hand and drew out his katana with the other, his body swaying slightly from the impact. He took a sharp glance at the attacker and widened his eyes when the attacker suddenly appeared in front of him. With a sharp knifehand strike, Kadaj was disarmed and staring into vicious blue eyes.

"_My chief…I…" _He backed away from Cloud, distancing himself from the raging man. Cloud grabbed him by the collar and bared his teeth at him. His blue eyes were so intense that Kadaj turned his face away from him, unable to bear the piercing glow in his eyes.

"_No one touches what is mine. She is mine." _Cloud growled deeply and tightened his grip on Kadaj's collar. Kadaj stubbornly turned back to Cloud and pulled at his arm for release. Cloud released Kadaj and pushed him away. Wildly, Kadaj shouted in rage and fury.

"_My chief, you are seduced by this Shinran slut, blinded by her beauty! She is of the dirtiest blood. She is a Shinran! We Wolves never live with Shinrans! She is the reason why you are injured! I cannot forgive her! She must be dead." _Speaking furiously, he grabbed his katana from the ground and walked towards Tifa again. Before he could get any closer, Cloud blocked his way and gave him a heavy blow in the stomach, making him fall onto his knees.

"_She is mine to deal with. You have no right to touch her. If you lay one finger on her again, you will be exiled to the Northern Borders. This is to all of you as well." _Cloud swept a serious glance at all the people who surrounded them. He turned and walked towards Tifa. Lowering himself onto one knee, he lifted the woman up into his arms and stood. Cloud looked at her. Her face was bleeding; her eyes were dull and drooping in despair. Cloud clenched his jaw tightly. Slowly, he strolled back to his yurt, yet was blocked by Angeal and the other men.

"_My chief, Kadaj is right. You should not keep this woman. She is dangerous." _Angeal lowered his head in a respectful manner. Vincent followed and lowered his head in agreement with Angeal. The other men did so as well.

"_My chief, she is not worth of your time and love. How would our people think if you brought a Shinran woman back to our den?" _Vincent bowed even lower and the other men started to mumble the same kind of words to Cloud. Cloud furrowed his brows.

"_Enough!" _

The Wolves all bowed low at his angry voice. Cloud quickly walked away. The other men could only stare. Vincent sighed.

"_That damn woman is driving him crazy!" _Cid spat angrily.

"_We'll just have to explain to him. Our chief is still young." _Angeal sighed heavily. The Wolves looked at each other in a troubled way. Vincent cleared his voice.

"_Get yourselves ready. We are going to leave at dawn."_

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><p>Cloud held Tifa by the chin gently and examined the cut on her face carefully under the warm candlelight. The cut was not deep and could fully heal. He gently dabbed the cut with a warm wet cloth, cleaning the wound. Tifa looked away from him, staring at the small flames of the other candles. She looked so sad and tired. There was ruffling of drapes and Elmyra entered with Cloud's permission. She was holding a small silver container. Cloud took it from her and opened it. He applied the soft translucent balm onto Tifa's face, the balm cool against her cut.<p>

"It can be used to heal deep wounds. Thousands of lives of my people were saved by this balm from wars and battles." Cloud murmured gently to Tifa. Tifa didn't look at him, but lowered her head.

"It is only a cut, not deep wounds. This is too precious. You should not use it on me." Tifa weakly pushed away his hand and stood. She walked towards the pentagon table and kneeled in front of the copper mirror. She looked at her face.

"Beauty is not forever. I will grow old and youth will leave me behind. This face will not last forever. You should not care too much for it." Tifa reached for the mirror and flipped it down. Cloud stared at her silently.

"I see beyond beauty in you. I treasure not only your face." Cloud walked towards her and kneeled next to her. He took hold of her hand and turned her towards him. Tifa looked at him.

"You do not know me. Your men despise me. We are from different worlds. You are a Wolf and I am a Shinran. You will never understand how I feel." Tifa withdrew her hand from him. She turned her back on him and dipped her head in sadness. Cloud looked at her back. Her shoulders drooped in a fragile way and the sides of her nape were still red from Kadaj's grip. Slowly, he closed the distance between them and tenderly embraced her from behind. Tifa immediately struggled and grabbed his arms but Cloud hushed her and stopped her struggling.

"…"

"…Give me a chance. Let me know more about you. Your world." Him speaking in Shinran was so exotic, his voice sounded so deep. Cloud slowly turned her towards him again. She was still dipping her head in that sorrow way. He lifted her chin gently and both of them stared into each other's eyes. Cloud slowly raised his finger and pointed it towards Tifa's heart.

"…Give this to me." Cloud stared into her eyes. Chocolate-wine poured into the ocean blue. She could feel his emotions, the piercing glow in his eyes showing sincerity, promise, obsession and…affection? She pulled her hands towards herself and covered her heart.

"…No…" Tifa stood up and backed away from him. She couldn't stand his intense gaze. Silence grew between them. The warm candles lit two lonely silhouettes onto the drapes and the walls of the yurt. A while later, Cloud sighed and stood. He gave a little chuckle and closed the distance between them. He gently held Tifa by the shoulders and leaned his forehead to hers. Tifa sucked in a breath and tensed.

"I guess I'll have to work harder then."

"…?" Not understanding what he really meant, she opened her mouth to question him but he walked out of the yurt. Soon he came back in and pulled her with him.

"What are you doing?" Tifa grabbed her cloak to prevent it from falling off her shoulders. Cloud led her to Fenrir and lifted her onto the horse. Tifa held tightly onto the reins, afraid of the height the black stallion brought her. Cloud climbed on behind her and with a small kick, he sent Fenrir galloping into the wilderness.

"What are you doing?" Tifa questioned him in surprise again. She tried turning around to look at him, but he secured her closely to his chest.

"I guess you would want to wash yourself after all the "adventures" you brought us these two days." His voice was deep and calm against her ears. Tifa widened her eyes. She hadn't had a bath for ages. For all these days she could only rinse a cloth and wipe her body clean due to the cold weather and she could never have a quick bath in the river with all those men nearby. She took a sniff at her own hair. She felt dirty and smelly.

"And I think you smell." Cloud saw what she did and whispered into her ear. Tifa widened her eyes in surprise of his words and slammed her elbow into his stomach. Cloud grunted in pain.

"I was only joking!"

"…" Tifa didn't want to talk.

"You smell good to me no matter how long you hadn't bathed." Cloud whispered into her ear again.

Tifa closed her eyes and covered her ears with her hands.

"Stop it!"

Cloud only smiled. He hoped this would lighten up the dull mood inside the yurt. The previous tension and uneasiness between them slowly drifting away with the wind.

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><p>Tifa stared at the hot spring with wide eyes. She had never seen such a large hot spring in her life. The heat of the hot spring was moistening her skin and she was yearning to jump into the water.<p>

"…I hope you like it." Cloud slowly spoke while observing her facial expressions. Did he do the right thing? Does she like it?

"…Can you wait outside? I want to bath." Tifa turned towards him but was too embarrassed and shy to look at him. Cloud smiled.

"Um…no." Cloud playfully sat onto a large rock and crossed his arms. Tifa looked at him, her fists tightened.

"I can't bath with you here." She dipped her head in that way again. Cloud quickly stood.

"Alright, alright. I'll turn around." He turned around. Tifa looked at his back carefully.

"…Don't turn around."

"I won't…" _I'll try not to._

Slowly, Tifa turned around. She untied her cloak, letting it drop onto the ground. She untied the sash of her outer robe, letting it fall into a pile upon her feet. Not knowing that the young man behind her has already turned to peek, she continued to undress herself. Slowly, she slid her inner robe off her smooth shoulders, exposing the thin straps of her undergarments around her neck and back. Her back was flawless and smooth, and looked snow white under the dim starlight. She reached behind her and pulled at the strap around her back, untying her undergarment. Cloud gulped. It was rude to peek, he knew. But…

Tifa then reached for the strap around her neck and untied it, letting the undergarment fall. She bended herself a little to take off her long sagging pants and stepped out of it. Cloud gulped again as she started to untie the strings at her hips. Cloud sighed when he saw the full view of her. She was perfect.

Pulling the hairpin, Tifa let her hair tumbled down her back and covered her back and Cloud moaned silently at the covering of her body. She slowly dipped her feet into the water, testing the temperature. Then she side stepped into the water, showing her curves to the young man behind her. Cloud thought he was going to faint because of the gorgeous sight.

Tifa quickly slid herself into the water and sighed. She hadn't felt so comfortable for a very long time. She scrubbed her arms, feeling the dirt wash away from her skin. She flipped her hair and rinsed it thoroughly, washing and enjoying herself for a short while in the water. She took a glance behind her, only to find the blue-eyed man's back turned to her. She sighed and turned back to herself again. She sank herself a little deeper into the water and blew a bubble. She was very confused with Cloud. He's not treating her like a slave. He said he likes her. His men hate her. What is she doing? What is she thinking?

Not wanting to think anymore, she took a deep breath and sank herself into the water to drown out the troubles in her mind. Suddenly, she was lifted up by strong arms and she yelped in surprise.

"What are you doing?" Tifa panicked and struggled, splashing water around.

"What are YOU doing? You were drowning!" Cloud released his hold when Tifa bit his hand and swam away from him. He knelt at the edge of the hot spring and looked at her in confusion. Tifa's face was red with embarrassment and anger.

"I was NOT drowning! I was…washing my face! And why did you turn around anyway? Pervert!" Tifa splashed water at him and quickly sank deeper into the water, hiding herself from him.

"…I didn't hear any splashing noise so I turned to check if you're alright!" Cloud quickly mumbled out and backed away from her. He turned away from her again, his face slightly red.

Tifa eyed him suspiciously. She swam towards the edge of the hot spring again. A while later, she cleared her voice.

"I'm getting out. Don't you dare look."

Cloud didn't answer. He obediently kept his eyes to the ground until she finished dressing herself.

"…I'm done."

Hearing her words, he turned around. She had a wonderful glow after bathing. Her hair was shiny and her face was rosy from the heat of the water. Tifa caught him staring and quickly walked past him to go outside. Clearing his voice, Cloud called to her.

"Wait. I have to bath too. You wait here. It's dangerous outside." Cloud started undressing himself. Tifa stubbornly turned to him.

"I can stay with your horse…" She argued but stopped when she saw him undressing. She gave a small gasp and quickly turned away from him. Cloud stepped into the water and gave a sharp whistle. Fenrir then came into Tifa's sight and stood next to her.

"Fenrir's inside here now. You can stay with him but not outside." Cloud swam further into the hot spring and dipped his head into the water. He raised his head above the water again, shaking the water out of his hair. His damp blonde hair no longer defying gravity rested nicely on his head, the longer strands slick against his forehead and nape. He swam towards the edge of the hot spring and rested his arms on the rocky edge. He looked at Tifa, who was standing straight and tense next to Fenrir, her back towards him and her hands gripping tightly onto Fenrir's reins. She was so uptight all the time. Quickly rinsing himself, he got out of the hot spring and dressed. He left his shirt unbuttoned and walked towards Tifa. Feeling the shadow over her, Tifa turned to find Cloud with his blond hair damp and his shirt opened. She turned away again quickly.

"W...Wear your clothes properly!" She hated it when he does these things.

"I am wearing them properly." No longer waiting for her further mumbling, he hoisted her up on Fenrir, himself following behind her and went back to the campsite.

It was near midnight when they returned. The men were all asleep for they will move at dawn. They will arrive at the den by evening tomorrow. Cloud helped Tifa off the horse and both of them went back into the yurt. It was always this time when Tifa felt uneasy around him. She covered herself with the big blanket and shut her eyes tightly. Cloud stared at her. He moved closer to her and felt her tensing up at his closeness. Slowly, he leaned towards her and laid a soft kiss on her shoulder. Then, he backed off and got himself comfortable at the far side of the bed. Tifa turned her head slightly to look at him. His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady and calm. Surprisingly, he was keeping a distance away from her. Tifa quietly turned back.

_Is he trying to…?_

Tifa closed her eyes. She will not think about it. She knows she will enter their main territory, their "den" tomorrow. Her chance of going back to Shinra is little. Yet, she will never give up the hope of returning home.

_This man…is dangerous._

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><p>Tifa was awoken by the sounds of men shouting and horses moving outside. She slowly pushed herself up and found the man next to her has already left the yurt. She kneeled up and two blankets fell from her shoulders. She looked at the blankets for a while then quickly slid off the bed and dressed. Walking to the trunk, she pulled out a fresh robe…his robe, and changed. There were no other clothes for her to wear. Flipping her hair out of the collar, she quickly brushed it through with the jade comb he gave her and tied in into a very low ponytail. Wearing her cloak, she was about to walk out of the yurt when she caught a glimpse at herself in the mirror. She walked towards it and examined herself. Delicate fingers touched her cheek.<p>

_The cut…it disappeared?_

It was only one night and her cut was healed. Only the faintest scar was left. Tifa turned to the silver container on the pentagon table. She reached out for it but stopped. He shouldn't have used it on her. She stood and walked out of the yurt. By the time she stepped out the yurt, three huge men came to her. She stood in alert, but the three men walked straight past her and started to pull down the yurt. The shorter man, Barret pushed her slightly aside and grunted a few Wolvish words. She quickly got out of their way and let them work.

White smoke puffed out of her mouth as she took a deep breath of air. The weather was getting extremely cold as they continued to head west. She clutched her cloak closer to herself and looked for Elmyra. The old woman was the only person other than Cloud who would talk to her. Maybe it was because both of them were women. She spotted the old woman trying to get a small trunk onto a carriage. The trunk was too heavy and Elmyra was about to lose grip of it when Tifa rushed to her and helped her push it onto the carriage. The old woman sighed and stretched her arms a little. She looked at Tifa and patted her hand. She moved on to put the other items on the carriage and Tifa followed. She had nothing else better to do. She didn't dare to run away again at this time where all of the Wolves were around. The old woman hummed a Wolvish folksong to herself and sometimes mumbled a few Shinran words to Tifa to tell her what to do, but sometimes she forgot and Wolvish came out of her mouth instead.

Tifa did what she what she understood from the old lady, panting slightly because of the heavy items. The sun was rising already. The light from the sunrays caught the white curve of her neck and the side of her face, lit up her shiny brown hair and falling onto her arms and hands. The wonderful warm rays added a glow to her rosy cheeks and lips, and her long robe sleeves swayed along with her movements, the light sash at her waist dancing slightly in the wind. The beautiful view of her went into the eyes of the young men near her, making them stop to look at her. They could not resist watching her; despite they said she was a treacherous woman. Her angelic features also caught the attention of deep blue eyes, making him stop his orders and stare. Barret and Vincent followed his gaze and saw the young woman in the mild sunlight. All of them were in silence.

"_An angel." _Cloud sighed in appreciation of the young woman's beauty while Vincent kept silent but still looking at the woman.

"_Yeah…"_ Barret breathlessly gave him a response but realizing what he said, he coughed and cleared his voice in embarrassment.

"_Just a Shinran woman!"_ Barret quickly strolled off. Cloud did not pay any attention to him and only focused on the young Shinran. Tifa dusted herself and dabbed her face lightly with the sleeve of her robe. She helped Elmyra off the carriage and caught a couple of young Wolves staring at her. She quickly lowered her head and walked away from their sight but went straight into the arms of the blonde man. Cloud hugged her tightly and spinned her around in delight.

"Stop! What are you doing?" Tifa clutched around his neck, surprised at his actions. Cloud stopped and caressed her face with both hands, looking at her tenderly. Tifa only looked away from him.

"_You are so beautiful, like an angel from above." _He was speaking Wolvish. Tifa furrowed her brows, trying to understand what he meant, but gave up when he let her down and pulled her along with him. He led her to Fenrir and hoisted her up onto his horse. Tifa struggled.

"I want to stay with Elmyra." She tried to slide off his horse but Cloud stopped her.

"You will ride with me today. I want my people to welcome you like how they welcome me." Cloud climbed up behind her. Tifa quickly turned to argue.

"To let them see what you have robbed back from Shinra? A Shinran woman? No!" Tifa thrashed around and Fenrir started to feel uneasy and neighed in protest. Fenrir suddenly stood, making Tifa yelp in fright while Cloud tried to control Fenrir again.

"Do not make me angry. I just want to treat you nice." Cloud looked at her with serious eyes. Tifa turned away from him in frustration. His whole tribe would hate her. She wouldn't survive a day in his territory! She knew it would be impossible to reject him once he made a decision. Unwillingly, she no longer moved and stayed quietly on Fenrir.

Seeing her calm down, Cloud gave a small smile. He knew what she was afraid of, yet he will be there to protect her. She will be afraid of nothing under his protection. He commanded the troop to get in line and with a roar from Barret, the whole troop began moving again, heading towards the "den", their home.

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><p>Since I'm having my long long semester break, updates will be more frequent now. Good news eh? v<p>

Again, reviews are welcome but please don't be too harsh. It's my first story after all. I will try my best and keep on improving.

See you guys soon!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

I promised quick updates. ;) Thank you for all the reviews and keep them coming!

Thank you for those who are offering help with beta-reading the story! I will individually contact you all for more information.:)

There's one really nice reviewer who didn't leave his/her name but said he/she left her email in the review, but I guess didn't allow it to show so I have no idea how to contact you! If you see this message please remember to contact me again! ;)

Enjoy! This is no doubt the longest chapter I've wrote for this story!

**Don't like, don't read.**

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><p>The white forest was withering in the cold winter air. The tall birch trees were bald and old and the animals were not to be seen. White flakes fell from above, twirling in the bitter wind and landing onto all sorts of places. The tranquility of the forest slowly disappeared as the trotting sounds of the moving troop sent trembles to the white earth. Slowly the horses trenched and men were on their feet to push the carriages through the heavy snow. Some were in front with huge shovels, opening a way for the herd to pass through. The cold winter snow seemed not to destroy their cheerful mood. They were singing, moving their heads along with the rhythm and beat. The Wolves were glad to be heading home. The adolescents were pushing each other on their horses, sometimes bending over to grab a handful of snow and smashing it into the person in front of them. Some were singing then cursing when being shoved in the face with snow by those who are shoveling. The deep, low chants of the men echoed throughout the forest, reviving the forest with their songs and laughter. They were no longer serious; the atmosphere became much more casual and joyful as they were finally returning to where they belong. Cloud seemed not to be bothered by his men fooling around, even allowing them to be carefree and relaxed. Even he was glad to be going home, especially now with a beauty in his arms. He dipped his head a little to look at the woman in his embrace.<p>

Tifa was shivering and shivering endlessly. She hid her face into her cloak to hide her face from the chilling wind. She was even snuggling herself unconsciously into Cloud to gain warmth from him. She was really uncomfortable with the cold weather. Rubbing her cold hands, she let out a shaky breath and lifted her head to the sky. Snow kept on falling and landed onto her face and hair. She shook her head a little and hid into her cloak again. Cloud frowned a little. He was worried if she was too cold. He grabbed a large cloak from the carriage next to him and wrapped it around Tifa. Tifa only grabbed the cloak tightly against her and snuggled more into the clothes she was wearing. From Cloud's view, he could only see her petite nose poking out from the bundle of clothes for air. Playfully, he raised his hand and pinched her nose lightly, gaining a small yelp from Tifa. Tifa pushed away her hood and glared at him. He only chuckled.

"Stop it!" Tifa pushed away his hand and wore her hood again. She was cold, uncomfortable, scared and…

Cloud leaned closer to her, his form covering her more from the falling flakes.

"I'm sorry. I don't have enough warm clothes for you. Take my coat and I'll shield you from the snow." Cloud looked ahead of them. After passing through the forest they will finally meet the Wolves' Eastern boundaries. He would have to quickly bring her into his place and bring the warmest clothing to her. Tifa listened to him in silence. She didn't even know how to response. Should she even say thank you? He really is driving her insane.

"When we return, the whole den will welcome us, and then we will have _Sheihchakrey _at night." Cloud explained to her quietly. Curiously, Tifa poked her head out of the bundle.

"What's _Sheihchakrey_?"Tifa was far too curious with these exotic terms she was daring to ask. Cloud smiled at her interest in Wolvish culture.

"It's a kind of gathering, a party to welcome warriors home. Women will wear white dresses, and men will wear their formal attire. Roses will be put into women's hair and men will take it from them or they will give it to the men for blessing." Cloud leaned his chin onto Tifa's head. Bearing his chin on her head, she couldn't help but ask again.

"Roses? What are those?" Tifa looked ahead of them into the distance. She could only see the fog and trees. No signs of the "den".

"Roses are a kind of flower. They are mostly red or white, have a lot of petals, thorns…um…and they smell good." Cloud furrowed his brows to find suitable words to describe the flower.

"…We don't have those kinds of flower in Shinra." Tifa lowered her head and looked at her white jade necklace. She rubbed the white jade with her thumb and suddenly widened her eyes.

"The flower has thorns and you put them into women's hair? Are you men mad?" Tifa turned as far as she could and started slapping Cloud on the chest. Cloud started dodging her painless attacks with his hand and turned her backed to the front.

"We pare off the thorns first of course!" Cloud smiled. They were having a conversation! He kept on talking about the _Sheihchakrey._ The food, the dance, the bonfire and so on. Tifa listened quietly, absorbing all the information she wanted to know, the uneasiness inside her surprising disappearing. She had been to the Crows but never the Wolves. They were too far away for her trading team to go; nonetheless the Wolves were notorious for their ferocious ways of robbing and raiding trading teams.

… _Why do you have to rob?_

Tifa questioned him quietly in her heart. She didn't dare to ask as she feared this will make him angry. She lowered her head and played with her fingers, like a child. Suddenly, a loud blow of the horn by Barret made Tifa yelped in surprise. Cloud suddenly sat straight and gave a strong and clear roar. The Wolves followed after him and their roaring echoed throughout the area. Tifa had to cover her ears from their great voices. Another loud horn in a short distance ahead of them replied them. Tifa looked ahead of them, squinting her eyes to look through the thick fog. As they moved closer in a fast pace, she widened her eyes at the sight. They were on a cliff, and she could take a full view of the "den" below. She thought it was just another campsite but it was far beyond her expectation. There were tall brick walls surrounding the "den", guards were patrolling around for safety. Beyond the tall brick walls were the strangest looking houses to her, not like the yurts she had stayed in before. The houses were sparsely spaced and formed a circle, with the tallest looking house in the middle. The shape of the den looked just like an enormous keyhole. Tifa sat straight and leaned herself onto Fenrir's head to look closer. Cloud chuckled at her. He leaned close to her and pointed to the "house" in the middle of the den.

"That's where I live…and where you will live." Cloud whispered into her ear. Tifa turned around to face him. She was now afraid. Is she going to be here forever?

Cloud started to move and the whole troop followed. There was a gentle slope at the side of the cliff which allows the troop to slowly move towards the tall gates of the den. The guards on the tall platforms blew their horns again and opened the heavy gates. Wolves were running to the main street of the den. Women who were busy brushing the manes of horses dropped their brushes to the ground and rushed to the main street. Children who were sitting around the fire listening to the old storyteller stood and ran to see their favorite warriors. Men who stayed at the den also hurried to the main street to welcome their companion home. The troop of men got off their horses quickly as they got ready to enter the gates. Cloud climbed off of Fenrir as well. Tifa panicked and looked at Cloud. She was the only one staying on a horse. She quickly tried to slide off of the black stallion but was stopped by Cloud.

"You just stay on Fenrir." Cloud patted her knee.

"But…" Tifa tried to say she felt extremely insecure and uncomfortable about this but Cloud did not listen. There was a sudden erupt of cheer and laughter when the people finally arrived at the main street. Children and young women quickly surrounded Cloud and he patted the children's heads one by one. Woman rushed out onto the streets, looking for their beloved spouse. A woman even tackled her returned husband to the ground for the greatest hug and kiss. The others greeted each other with playful punches and pats while laughing and chatting. All their actions were so new and shocking to Tifa. Never did she see a woman kiss a man in public like that. Nor did she ever see people greet each other with punches and pats. They were so different. Or should she say, she was so different?

A young boy, Denzel, with pretty brown hair and blue eyes noticed Tifa on Fenrir. Pulling Cloud by his sleeve, he pointed at Tifa.

"_Big brother, who is that girl on Fenrir? I thought you said no one but you are allowed on Fenrir."_ Young and curious blue eyes fixed their gaze on the young Shinran woman. His question brought all attention to Tifa. Meeting the curious stares of the people, Tifa could only grip the reins of Fenrir tightly. Cloud smiled at the child and looked at Tifa.

"_Pretty, isn't she? She is going to be your sister-in-law!" _Cloud tousled Denzel's hair. The people around them, especially the young women, sucked in a deep breath. The children, not noticing any problem, continued to look at the young woman.

"… _She looks different…but she is reeallllyyy pretty." _Denzel replied. Denzel and some other children came closer to Tifa. The children started patting lightly on Tifa's legs, tugging lightly on her long sash and started asking questions and saying hello. Denzel looked at her.

" _Hello, I'm Denzel. What is your name?"_

Cloud chuckled. He went towards them and touched Tifa by the knee.

"_She is a Shinran. She doesn't speak Wolvish so she does not know what you are saying to her." _Cloud looked dearly at Tifa, who was stiff and nervous. The people around them gasped and some adults pulled their children away from Tifa.

"_Shinran?"_

"_What? A Shinran for wife? What is my leader thinking?"_

"_Children! Don't go close to her!"_

"_I couldn't believe he fell for a Shinran! What did that slut do to our leader?"_

The people were whispering to each other in shock and disbelief. Frowning, Cloud raised a hand and all of them went into silence. Cloud cleared his voice.

"Thank you for welcoming us back. The _Sheihchakrey _will begin tonight. We welcome all our brothers and sisters to this feast and enjoy the night with us. I have returned with a beautiful lady from the Far East. She is from the South of Shinra. Do not fear or despise her, as she will soon become your future queen. Treat her with love and care from your hearts." Cloud turned to Tifa and smiled. Tifa looked troubled. The people looked troubled, yet applauded and cheered for the troop. Vincent and Angeal looked at each other. Vincent sighed and massaged his eyes. How are they going to explain this to the Chief and Queen Dowager?

* * *

><p>"It's good to be home." Cloud took hold of Tifa's hand and led her into his "house". Tifa looked around.<p>

"Your house is huge." Tifa said without much feeling. Cloud turned to her.

"We don't call this a house. We call this a "mansion." He untied his cloak and flung it onto the handrail of the large spiral staircase. The place was not fancy or glamorous. It was simple and clean, with light curtains and drapes and light colored walls.

"Why not live in a palace? You are the Chief of the tribe." Tifa furrowed her brows, not understanding why royalties like him were not living luxuriously in palaces. Cloud took off his weapons and left it onto the small stand next to the staircase. He unbuttoned his collar.

"Well…I am not the Chief of the tribe…yet. My father is still the Chief. I'm only the leader of the warrior troop. He will soon pass all his power to me. As for the house, we thought we already have enough space and we do not want to waste much on building a castle. There is no need to live in such a big place. This place is big enough already." He turned when he heard maids chirping and hurrying towards them. Tifa quickly hid behind him. The maids rushed towards him and bowed.

"_Oh my young master! How I've missed you!"_ The old maid bowed low and the others followed. Cloud smiled and chatted a little with the old maid while the other two took his cloak and weapons and put them away. The old lady took a peek at the woman behind him.

"_Who is the young lady?"_

Cloud turned his head a little. He smiled and pushed Tifa in front of him. Tifa gasped at his actions.

"_I brought her back from Shinra! She is my future wife. Is she pretty? Old Nana."_ Cloud grinned. Old maid Nana was a gentle and open-minded woman who took care of Cloud when he was young and has served his family for twenty years. Nana examined Tifa from top to bottom. She then gave a wink to Cloud.

"_It seems that my sneaky young master has found himself a beautiful young wife! Did you tell the Queen Dowager? I don't think she will accept this easily." _Old Nana frowned. Cloud's grandmother was conservative. She was the one who influenced the Wolves much on hating other races like the Shinrans and the Crows. Her influence on the public was still strong. Cloud winced at the thought of handling his grandmother.

"_I'll tell her when I meet her and father tonight at the Sheihchakrey. For now, would you please help Tifa here to get ready for tonight?" _Cloud pushed Tifa gently towards Nana. Tifa turned to look at Cloud.

"Nana will take care of you. She will prepare you for tonight. I'll see you later." Cloud gave her hand a kiss and hurried off to the other side of the mansion.

"W-wait!" Tifa tried calling him back but he was already down the corridor.

"_Our young master is very busy for tonight. He has to get well-dressed and meet his people after a long journey. Now come along and I'll get you dressed for tonight."_ Nana ushered her to go up the stairs.

"Please speak slowly…I do not understand much of what you are saying…"" Tifa touched her forehead in confusion.

Nana only gave Tifa a wrinkled smile. Tifa sighed and allowed the old lady to bring her to her room when suddenly two young voices chirped at the foot of the staircase.

"_Old nanny Nana! Where's Big brother and the pretty lady? I brought Marlene along to let her see the pretty lady!" _Denzel shouted up the stairs.

"_Oooh! You brought your little girlfriend along, eh? The pretty woman is here with me! Your big brother went off to dress up."_ Nana shouted back down to the young boy. Denzel turned to Marlene, the little girl with the pink braid.

"_You go to Nanny Nana and pretty lady while I go to find Big Brother."_ The young girl nodded and Denzel dashed down the corridor. Marlene, clutching onto her favorite teddy toy, ran up the stairs and caught up with Nana and Tifa.

"_Good afternoon, Nanny Nana." _She greeted the old lady politely with that sweet cheerful voice.

"_Hello, little Marlene."_

They entered Tifa's room and Marlene then looked at Tifa. Tifa looked back at her. Suddenly, Marlene took hold of Tifa's hand. Tifa widened her eyes in surprise.

"Miss Shinra, you are really pretty." Marlene looked at Tifa with her big brown eyes. Tifa couldn't help but smile at the little child. The children here were so innocent and sweet, unlike the adults.

"…My name is Tifa." Tifa took hold of the young girl's hand and rubbed it with her thumb.

"My name is Marlene. Barret is my papa. Do you know him? The short man with dark skin and loud voice." Tifa giggled at Marlene's cute description.

"Yes I know him. But you do not look like him."

"That's because he's not my real papa. He adopted me, but Nanny Nana took care of me and Denzel together when papa and Cloud were on trips." Marlene explained.

"Oh…" Tifa felt sorry for Marlene. She held her hand firmly.

"Where did you learn to speak Shinran?" Tifa asked.

"Cloud taught me and Denzel. Cloud learnt Shinran on his journeys." Marlene sat onto the small stool next to the mirror. Old Nana went out the room but returned quickly with an arm full of dresses and sashes. She placed them onto the bed and Tifa stood. She walked towards the dresses and looked at them. Old Nana smiled and motioned Tifa to try them on.

"_Little Marlene, tell the young lady to try on the dresses."_

"Nanny Nana wants you to try them on." Marlene looked at the dresses as well. "They're pretty."

Tifa touched the dresses. It seemed that the Wolves knew how to make good dresses and clothing. The dresses were in different shades of white. Tifa remembered Cloud saying women should wear white dresses for the feast tonight. Tifa turned around and sat onto the chair in front of the vanity table.

"…I do not want to go to the feast tonight." Tifa lowered her head.

Old Nana looked at Tifa with questioning eyes, wondering what Tifa said. Marlene gaped at her and told Old Nana what Tifa said. Old Nana gave a gasp and pulled Tifa to stand.

"_But you must go! You are going to be the wife of our future leader!" _Old Nana picked one of the dresses and handed to Tifa, her eyes showing sincerity and inviting her to the _Sheihchakrey._

"Old Nana said you must go because you are Cloud's sweetheart and you are going to marry him soon!" Marlene stood and tugged at Tifa's sash as well. Tifa widened her eyes.

"M-marry? Who said I was going to marry him? I'm only his slave, not sweetheart!"

"Huh?" Marlene's head was now full of questions. She told Nana what Tifa said and Nana sighed.

"_Young master must have not explained clearly to the young lady."_ Nana and Marlene looked at each other.

"You need to go to the _Sheihchakrey _tonight anyway!" Marlene shrugged and Nana shoved another dress to Tifa. Sighing in defeat, Tifa looked at the dresses. She picked the simplest looking one and changed. There were no other designs on the long dress. It was plain white and only showed a decent amount of cleavage and the small back of the neck. Still, Tifa wasn't used to showing much skin. She hugged herself closely. Old Nana tied a long black silk sash on her waist and placed a small white rose on the side of her head. Marlene untied Tifa's long hair.

"Girls should not tie their hair tonight. You have to give your favorite person your rose for blessing but don't let people you don't like take it away!" Marlene explained slowly. Tifa listened carefully to the little girl. Old Nana combed through her hair and placed her hair on one side of her shoulder. Nana sighed at Tifa's youth and beauty.

"Please, I'm only a slave he took with him…" Tifa tried explaining to Nana and Marlene. Nana only snorted in disbelief.

"_If you're his slave, then why did he tell me to prepare you for tonight? Why did he give you this precious jade comb? Why did he order us to treat you nicely?" _Marlene translated what Nana said to Tifa.

"I…" Tifa was speechless. She did not have words to argue back.

"Sister Tifa. Big Brother Cloud is very nice. He saved me from being killed when I was a baby. Why do you don't seem to like him? I like him very much. Why don't you try to like him?" Marlene looked down sadly. Cloud was very popular among the young ladies here. Why doesn't Tifa like him?

"Marlene, I..." Tifa find it hard to explain. By the time Tifa found words to explain, Nana shooed them out of the room and down the stairs.

"We're going to the party now" Marlene smiled sweetly at Tifa and held her hand. Tifa smiled back at her in a defeated way and slowly walked down the stairs. Cloud and Denzel were already at the front door, talking to each other. Denzel looked very happy, asking what Cloud saw this time on his journey. Cloud spoke and took a glimpse at the staircase. Then he was speechless. There she was, holding Marlene by the hand. Her soft and shiny hair was placed nicely on one side of her shoulder, the long dress hugging her curves closely, showing a suitable amount of cleavage and the white jade hung gracefully from her neck. Cloud walked towards her and reached out his hand, his eyes fixed on the beautiful young woman. Giggling at Cloud with Old Nana, Marlene released her hold on Tifa's hand and let Cloud lead Tifa down the stairs.

"_Oh Old Nana…what am I going to do with such a beautiful lady?"_ Cloud couldn't look away from Tifa.

"…_.Woo her, marry her and make cute little cubs!" _Old Nana jumped a little in excitement. Cloud laughed at Nana's words.

"_Oh, Old Nana! When will you ever grow?"_ Cloud laughed. The old lady just shrugged and went down the corridor.

"Where is she going?" Tifa asked.

"Old Nana will join us later. Here, wear this." Cloud handed her a large white fur cloak and not waiting for her to receive it, he wrapped it around Tifa. Then, he took a little box from his pocket and opened it. Inside the small box was an exquisite white jade bracelet. The white jade was near translucent and was of the best jades. There were carvings of Wolvish prayers and blessings on the bracelet. Tifa widened her eyes. Cloud took hold of her hand and slipped it onto Tifa's wrist.

"For you, my beautiful." Cloud gave Tifa a wink. Tifa looked at the bracelet.

"This is too precious. I…" Cloud silenced her with his index finger. He took hold of her hand and led her out of the mansion, with Denzel and Marlene holding hands and skipping behind them.

* * *

><p>The large bonfire was flaring and raging flames were sending warmth and passion to the people around it. Many of the Wolves were there already. Seats were provided around the fire and people were roasting meat and dancing around. Some were playing drums with heavy rhythms and men were singing and clapping to the beat. This sight was new to Tifa, who stared at the large bonfire at the center of the whole area. Cloud led them to their seat and motioned Tifa to sit down first. Tifa remained standing. She noticed that it would be rude to sit before him and doing so will make the people around her dislike her even more. Soon, a well-built older blonde man and blonde old woman came towards them. Cloud quickly walked over to meet them and bowed slightly. Tifa quickly understood that those must be his family. She saw Cloud pointing at her and the two people looked at her. Not knowing what to do, she slightly gave a nod. The man hesitantly nodded back but the old woman eyed her cautiously and frowned. The old woman then lifted her head high and her servant came leading her towards her seat. Tifa saw Cloud trying to stop the old woman from leaving but the old woman just raised her hand and Cloud stopped. The old woman sat at the opposite side of the bonfire. Tifa looked at Cloud. He and the older blonde man were walking towards her. Tifa dusted her dress unconsciously.<p>

"_Father, this is Tifa." _Cloud wrapped an arm around Tifa's shoulder. Tifa tensed and gently brushed his arm off. Noticing her nervousness and rejection, blues eyes searched her face but continued to introduce his father to Tifa. Tifa looked at the older blonde man. Cloud looked just like him, but Cloud's eyes were a much deeper blue. Tifa gave a little nod. The older man looked at her intensely. Tifa lowered her head. He nodded at her and sat down on a seat behind Cloud's. Carefully, Cloud sat down onto the small but beautifully sewn burgundy matt and pulled Tifa with him. A small rectangle table was quickly placed in front of them after they have sat. Tifa struggled.

"Let go of me! Don't you think it's inappropriate to hold a woman like this at such a big dinner? " Tifa struggled to get out of his embrace. Cloud only held her closer. He hushed her and pointed at the others.

"Look at the others. They're just the same! And you think it's much more appropriate for me to hold you like this at small dinners?" Cloud winked at her. Tifa looked around. Indeed, couples were leaning close against each other and women were being hugged by their spouse.

"But I…" Tifa was silenced again by the large piece of meat which suddenly landed on their plate. Widening her eyes, she stared at the piece of meat. It was larger than her head! There were vegetables around it as well. Tifa looked around the table. There was no cutlery. When she was travelling with Cloud, there were always cutlery provided for her to eat but she realized at such a traditional banquet, it was their traditional way of eating by tearing the meat with their teeth and hands. Troubled with the problem of how she should eat, Tifa only stared at the meat in silence. Cloud was busy laughing and chatting with Barret and Vincent when suddenly he realized Tifa was not eating. She looked troubled. Then he noticed. Chuckling, he pulled out his dagger. He leaned closer to her and pulled the plate towards them. Tifa turned sideways to look at him. Slowly, Cloud reached for the meat and started cutting it into small pieces for her. He poked up a piece with his dagger.

"Come on, open your mouth. It tastes good." He motioned Tifa to open her mouth. Blushing, Tifa pushed his hand away from her.

"I-I can eat it myself." She took hold of the dagger but Cloud wouldn't let go.

"Hurry up and eat it now." Cloud picked up the meat with his nimble fingers and shoved it into Tifa's mouth quickly, earning him a sharp slap on the knee. Barret snorted a laugh next to him and Cloud grinned back.

"_Stubborn woman."_ Barret snorted and he started tearing the meat with his hands and teeth.

"You should try eating in the Wolves' way. Tastes so much better and you can feel the wildness in us." Cloud continued cutting the meat into small pieces for Tifa. Tifa looked at him. She never really looked at him this close up before. His blonde hair was spiky yet soft, his brows were neat and his nose was straight. He has sharp facial contours, with a few very faint freckles on his cheeks. His eyes were a deep, deep blue under the dim light from the bonfire flames. There was a small smile on his thin moist lips. The twinkling blue eyes suddenly turned to her. Tifa blinked a few times and looked away.

"…Were you checking me out?" Cloud asked boyishly.

Blushing at his question, Tifa looked down on her plate and started eating.

"I-I was not!" She then found out the strangest looking vegetable. She never saw these little trees before.

"These are _broccoli. _Not little trees." Cloud explained when he heard Tifa said "little trees" under her breath. Embarrassed, Tifa plopped one into her mouth and tasted it. The food actually tasted good. Cloud soon handed her a cup. Tifa looked at the cup and took it from him. She smelled it and scrunched her nose.

"What's that?" She pushed it away from her.

"It's Wolvish wine. Strong liquor. Stronger than Shinran wine I guess." Cloud took a gulp and handed it to her again. Hesitantly, Tifa took the cup and took a gulp. She choked at the strong liquor and tears were forming at the corner of her eyes. Her cheeks became rosy. Startled by her choke, Cloud took the cup from her and patted her back quickly. Tifa slapped him again but he only smiled apologetically at her.

* * *

><p>People were already dancing and having a great time. No one really paid much attention to Tifa, for it was a happy time for them to celebrate the return of their warriors. Denzel came running along with Marlene.<p>

"_Big Brother!" _Denzel called to Cloud. Cloud greeted him and patted his on the head.

"_Can I have a dance with Tifa?"_ Round blue eyes looked at Tifa. Tifa looked at both of the boys.

"_Well, you have to ask her yourself, cub! Even I haven't danced with her." _Cloud leaned back onto his hands and looked at Denzel. Blushing slightly, Denzel bowed and reached out a hand to Tifa.

"Sister Tifa, may I dance with you?" The young boy closed his eyes in anticipation. Tifa was surprised. She looked at Cloud but Cloud just looked back at her.

"…I don't know how to dance." Tifa fisted her hands into her dress. She was feeling lightheaded because of the wine already.

"That's okay! I can teach you!" Without waiting her reply, Denzel pulled Tifa up and out to the bonfire circle.

"W-Wait!" Tifa panicked and looked back at Cloud. He only smiled and waved at her. Biting her lip, Tifa followed Denzel. She didn't want to reject the child. Denzel turned to her and bowed. Tifa bowed back. Denzel giggled.

"You shouldn't bow. Girls should curtsy, like this." He pretended to lift the sides of a dress and bent his knees. Tifa followed his actions.

"Good. Then we hold left hands and I hold your waist." Tifa allowed the child to teach her how to dance. She was curious about their custom anyway. With the wine she drank, she felt less tensed and really started dancing with Denzel. She even giggled when Denzel tried to twirl her around.

* * *

><p>Many of the young wolves were looking at the young Shinran and the young cub dancing together. Kadaj took a great gulp from his cup and slammed it onto his table. He was still furious that the woman made his leader punish him. His brothers and friends said that the woman was bad, yet he heard them saying how pretty she was while they were sparing in the fields this afternoon.<p>

"_You bastards, all blinded by her beauty!"_ Drunk, he punched Loz, his second brother on the shoulder. Loz punched him back.

"_Well, she is pretty! Who cares if she is a Shinran or not!"_ Loz whispered quietly to Yazoo, the third brother. Yazoo nodded and took a gulp from his cup. Loz dared not let people hear them as he was afraid they will be criticized for saying such things.

"_Yet, the cub with her doesn't seem to be scared."_ Yazoo pointed at Denzel while holding his cup. He pushed away the woman leaning on him. Taking one last gulp, Yazoo stood and walked out of his seat.

"_Oi! Where are you going?"_ Kadaj yelled to him.

"_I'm gonna have a dance with her." _Yazoo replied. Yazoo was infamous for his craziness among the three brothers. He did whatever he liked and if he felt like dancing with the Shinran, he'll just do it.

"_WHAT?" _Both Kadaj and Loz grabbed his leg but he yanked them off and walked towards Tifa.

* * *

><p>Tifa was actually having fun with Denzel when suddenly someone patted her on the shoulder. It was Yazoo. She backed away from him in fright.<p>

"_Brother Yazoo!"_ Denzel greeted the long-haired man. Yazoo nodded at Denzel. He then bowed to Tifa and reaches out his hand. Tifa looked at Denzel.

"Brother Yazoo wants to dance with you. It's okay. I need to drink some water." Without waiting for Tifa's reply, he ran off. Tifa looked at Yazoo. He was still in that bowed position. She looked around them. No one was looking at them…at least she couldn't see the two other silver-haired men staring. Boldness given to her from the wine, she reached for his hand and Yazoo quickly stood. He held her by the waist and started to dance with her. He didn't say anything but only looked at her with his glowing cat-like green eyes. It reminded Tifa of his brother. Tifa looked away and they danced awkwardly.

"WHAT? That isn't even called dancing!" Loz pointed at Yazoo. "Look at him! What is he doing?" Standing, Loz marched out towards them. Kadaj only furiously drank more.

Loz patted Yazoo on the shoulder and practically pushed him away. The man gave a short and sharp bow and quickly, he danced with Tifa. Tifa felt incredibly awkward with the two men. But then, there were more and more who were asking her for a dance. Dizzily, she was being twirled around and around the bonfire.

* * *

><p>On the other side, Cloud took an angry gulp from his cup and slammed it onto the table.<p>

"_Those little young Wolfy bastards! Saying she was dirty blood and Shinran but all asking a dance with her!" _He looked at Vincent furiously but the latter only drank quietly from his cup.

"_Adolescents were much less influenced by the Queen Dowager about clean blood and Shinrans. Plus, she has a white rose in her hair. Doesn't that mean she is not taken?" _Vincent explained and appreciated the starry night. He didn't want to care about Cloud's love life. At least not tonight.

Growling, Cloud stood and strolled towards where the young Wolves and his maiden were. Looking at Cloud's angry form, Marlene crawled from her seat to Vincent and sat on his lap.

"_Uncle Vincent, then do the people like Tifa or not?" _Marlene asked. Vincent only hugged Marlene lightly.

* * *

><p>Tifa was twirled around and around like a dancing doll by the young Wolves. The brown-haired man who was dancing with her was smiling and blabbering Wolvish to her when suddenly he was pushed away by Cloud. He hugged Tifa into his embrace to show possession over the woman. The young Wolves bowed and backed off, understanding that play time with the lady from the Far East was over.<p>

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" Cloud cupped her cheeks and examined her. Her lips were slightly opened and she was panting, her bosom rising and falling with every breath she took. Her eyelids were drooping from exhaustion and her hair was slick and sticking to her face and skin because of her sweat. She couldn't look more beautiful. Cloud couldn't resist and leaned in for a kiss. Tifa struggled a little but gave in due to the tiredness. He cupped her nape and deepened the kiss, suckling her lower lip gently, earning a sexy whimper from Tifa. He told himself to keep a distance and not to frighten her but it was such a difficult task to do so. He released her reluctantly and Tifa took a deep breath. She slapped him weakly on the cheek but Cloud hugged her and slowly danced with her.

"I am…really…tired." Tifa panted. Her head was dizzy from the dances and the wine. She didn't know why she is reacting like this. She allowed him to hold her closely.

"Did you just kiss me?" She started mumbling words she had in her head as well.

"Yes I did. Did it feel good?" Cloud smiled and looked at her. Tifa leaned on his shoulder and looked back at him, her body weak in his embrace. Tifa gave him a feathery slap on the lips.

"You….pervert." She pushed him away suddenly, trying to stand but fail and landed back into his arms.

"You are absolutely drunk." Cloud chuckled at her behavior. Tifa struggled a little to stand properly and look at him in the eye.

"…What am I to you, Cloud Strife?" She asked. She seemed serious and drunk at the same time.

"…A bundle of nerves…and love." He replied. He was serious as well.

Tifa stood straight and cupped his face. She eyed him carefully.

"Are you lying?" She leaned closer to him. He looked back into her eyes.

"I am not lying. I really do love you. Love at first sight. Not only your beauty, but your spirit, intelligence, virtue and identity." He held her wrists gently. Tifa released her hold and dropped her arms to her side. Cloud looked at her. She was drunk, indeed. Lovingly, he hugged her and kissed her forehead.

Suddenly, a loud horn erupted and all Wolves stood. Women started to take the roses off their hair and put it into the breast pocket of their loved ones. Wives gave red roses to their husbands while young unmarried women gave their white roses to those who they admire. Tifa looked at their actions. Cloud pulled the white rose from Tifa's hair and placed it into his breast pocket. He then took off his black mane scarf and wrapped it around Tifa's neck. The other men did the same to their loved ones. Marlene and Old Nana giggled at the sight and sighed. Some of the young women cried when they saw Cloud giving Tifa his mane scarf.

Neither Tifa nor Cloud had the time to react when suddenly Tifa was whisked around and slapped sharp across the face, sending her onto the ground. Cloud looked at who hit her. It was the Queen Dowager. The Queen Dowager had been sitting there watching the two of them dancing. She despised people different from their blood and hated Tifa at first sight. She thought that Cloud, being her good grandson will hand his mane scarf to her, his own grandmother. Instead, he wrapped it around the dirty neck of this Shinran woman.

"_How dare you, slut! How dare you wear the mane scarf of our future Chief?" _She raised her hand to slap her again but was stopped by Cloud.

"_ENOUGH!"_ Cloud shouted. He lifted Tifa up and hurried back towards the mansion, leaving the people in shock. Some of the young woman sneered and laughed.

"_That slut deserved that slap!"_

"_All hail to the Queen Dowager!"_

Vincent glared at the noisy young women and they quickly shut up in fear. All the people stared at each other and didn't know what to do. The Chief, Cloud's father, then stepped out and gave an ending speech and dismissed the crowd. He sighed and massaged his temples.

_What am I going to do with my son and mother?_

The same question goes to Vincent and Angeal.

_What are they going to do with Cloud and Tifa?_

* * *

><p><em>That's it for this chapter! I hope you guys like it. The Young Wolves are far less influenced by the conservative thought of pure blood, though they deny it they still think Tifa's hot! ;)<em>

_Quick quizz : Try guessing a real Historical character of the Queen Empress in this story! Hint: Qing Dynasty ;)_

_For those who are curious about My Dear Wife (the other story), I'm really sorry to tell that I am not going to update that one yet coz I'm stuck on the plot /.\_

_I apologize deeply!_

_ANYWAY! Reviews are welcome but no flames please._

_I'll update when I get um...50 more reviews? haha. I'm still busy for the holiday and reviews really motivate me to update faster!_

_See you all in chapter 8 ;)_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Hi everyone. I apologize for not updating for a long time. Something happened. It was really awful so I don't want to talk about it.**

**I have been thinking a lot lately about my attitude towards writing. I figured out that it was one of my interests. I should not write to please anyone, but to enjoy myself. It wouldn't be hobby if I am not enjoying myself while writing.**

**I am glad that a lot of you like TSB. And I realized that many are demanding for updates so badly that it's getting me a little stressed. Please be considerate. I have work to do in real life as well and they're using up a lot of my spare time. I will update whenever I can.**

**Okay, enjoy the new chapter.**

**ATTENTION**: There are *** to show some footnotes. I am still too weak at describing and explaining stuff so…you guys know what I mean.

Still need to be proof-read. Raw-version presented.

* * *

><p>"<em>How dare you! I am your grandmother! I came all the way from the Northern Palace just to welcome you home and you neglect my existence!" <em>The Empress Dowager slammed her old bony hand on the small mahogany tea table, her golden bracelets clashing towards each other angrily. Cloud knelt on one knee before her, his head lowered in respect.

"_I did not neglect you, your highness."_ Cloud replied. He lifted his head and looked into the old angry eyes of the shrunk woman in front of him.

"_Did not neglect me? You put your scarf around that dirty woman's neck! Why did you bring a Shinran back to the den? She has no right to be here!" _The old woman slammed her hand onto the table again.

"_Oh your highness, please do not be angry at Brother Cloud, I am sure he has some reasons. Am I right, Brother Cloud?"_ A young woman knelt next to the Empress Dowager and patted the old woman's knee. She was Aisha, Princess of the Gongaga Wolf Pack, and in the Empress Dowager's mind the most suitable granddaughter-in-law.

"_Oh Aisha, my dear. Even my own grandson is not as loving as you. Poor pure-blood Aisha abandoned by the Gongagas."_ The Empress Dowager patted Aisha's head dearly.

"_I am not poor at all. You raised me as your own grandchild as well. Although I am not from the Strife's, I feel like I am already." _Aisha sweetly chirped. She held the Empress Dowager's hands and kissed them. She then rose and poured a cup of tea for the Empress Dowager, swaying her hips as seductively as she could in front of Cloud. She looked at Cloud with hopeful and loving eyes, batting her eyelashes seductively. Cloud only ignored her.

"_Your highness, I wish to marry the Shinran woman. Her name is Tifa." _Cloud looked at the old woman. He saw her expression changed from angry to furious. She swept the pot of tea and cup onto the carpet floor in rage, her face was red and she was panting. Aisha shrieked and backed away from the mad woman.

"_You what? Marry a Shinran? You are out of your mind! Did that witch cast a spell on you? I forbid you to do so!" _The Empress Dowager widened her eyes in disbelief.

"_Your highness…grand-mother. I have never asked for anything. She is the only person I want." _Cloud held a firm stance. He sounded so confident and sure.

"_I will never hear about that woman from you again! Do you understand? I demand you to banish the woman from our land! If you marry that woman then you will never call me your grandmother again!" _The Empress Dowager rose from her seat and left the room in great anger. Her maids followed quickly after her. Aisha looked at Cloud for a while.

"_Brother Cloud…"_ She had tears in her eyes.

"_You should follow her." _Cloud rose and walked away. He knew how ugly it would turn out. Yet he had to express his wish to the Empress Dowager. He left the room quickly, the ugly conversation out of his mind immediately as he hurried back to see the Shinran woman who has been twirling around in his mind for a very long time.

Aisha watched him go, herself still kneeling on the floor. Standing up, she brushed the dust off her dress. She picked the rose she had out of her hair and looked at it. Slowly, a small pit of fire burned in her heart. She scrunched the rose in her palm ruthlessly and let it fall onto the ground. Stepping on it, she hurried out of the room and went back to the Empress Dowager.

* * *

><p>Her bed chamber was dimly lit, and Denzel was in there with her, keeping her company. He was such a sweet boy. He had given her a towel with ice wrapped inside to soothe her swollen and stinging cheek. Tifa sat on her low bed, leaning her back onto the soft pillows and covering her cheek with the cold towel Denzel gave her. She looked at Denzel, who was sitting on the small stool and resting his upper body on her bed. He looked at her with his face cupped in his small hands.<p>

"Does it still hurt?" He asked timidly. He was scared and didn't want to see Tifa cry.

Tifa gave him a small smile and shook her head slowly. She touched his wrist.

"It is very late. You should go and rest. I will be fine." Tifa touched his nose gently and motioned him to go and sleep. Denzel refused.

"Brother Cloud isn't back yet. I promised to look after you when he is not here with you." Denzel straightened himself and stifled a yawn. Tifa looked at him. She then looked out the window. The sky was a midnight blue and there were no stars. She looked back at Denzel again. He was already sleeping, his upper body resting on her bed again. Tifa touched his soft hair. Her cheek didn't hurt anymore, but it was numb because of the cold. She picked up the small round mirror on her nightstand and looked into it. Her cheek was still a little red, but it will become normal again by morning. She turned the mirror around. There were rubies and sapphires carved into the back, with floral patterns. She traced her fingertips along the silver carvings slowly. Placing it back onto the nightstand, she leaned back onto the pillows. It was not the first time she got hit. She was tired. She was about to close her eyes when suddenly there was a soft knock at the door. She didn't move or answer. She knew who it would be.

Cloud entered her room quietly, his eyes widened in slight surprise to see Denzel still there. Quietly, he walked towards the two of them. He patted Denzel gently on the shoulder. Denzel slowly woke.

"_Brother Cloud…" _He rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"_You've done a good job at looking after Tifa. Go and have some rest now."_ Cloud ruffled Denzel's hair. Denzel only gave a sleepy nod. He kissed Tifa's hand and left the room. Cloud sat on the side of her bed and looked at Tifa. Tifa looked back at him with half-closed eyes. Both of their breathing was calm and the room was quiet. Cloud opened his mouth to talk but Tifa interrupted him.

"It doesn't hurt anymore. I am tired. I want to sleep." Tifa closed her eyes, cutting the contact with him. Cloud opened his mouth to speak again.

"I just want to say sorry. It was my fault. I was not fast enough to protect you." Cloud looked at Tifa. Her long eyelashes slightly trembled and her fair skin flawless under the dim light.

"I will assign two of my men to protect you when I am not with you." Cloud touched her hand. Tifa withdrew her hand from him.

"To protect or to supervise?" Tifa kept her eyes closed; her voice was calm and steady.

"Tifa, don't be like this. Give me a chance." Cloud touched her cheek.

Tifa did not reply. She turned to the side, pulling the quilt closer to herself. Cloud looked at her sadly. Sighing, he left her room and closed the door behind him.

Tifa opened her eyes again and stared at the ceiling.

_Give him a chance?_

Leaning himself against the wall outside her room, Cloud looked at the ceiling.

_Give me a chance._

* * *

><p>The dying small flame of her candle disappeared when a small gist of wind seeped through the window. Daybreak was early in the West and the cold breeze started rattling her window. Tifa curled herself into the bed sheets and refused to move. The sunrays were slowly shining into her bed chamber and lightening up the area. She slowly opened her eyes.<p>

She could hear voices and movements down the corridor. It seemed that there were people roaming around the mansion and moving towards her. Tifa got up quickly and wrapped a shawl around herself. She turned quickly when she heard a knock on the door. Tifa ran to the other side of the bed and did not answer.

"…Tifa?"

It was him again.

Tifa rolled her eyes and sat on the bed, her back facing the door. She grabbed the jade comb and started brushing the tangles out of her hair. Hearing no answer, Cloud entered her chamber. There she was, sitting there on the bed, combing her long hair. He walked towards her, with three maids following behind, each pushing trunk into her room. Tifa took a glimpse behind her and stood in surprise.

"What is all this?" Tifa asked coldly.

"I thought it would make you comfortable to wear Shinran clothes and have Shinran furniture in your room." Cloud motioned the maids to unlock the trunks and take out the clothes inside. The maids placed several sets of Shinran outfits onto her bed. Tifa walked towards them and took a look at the outfits. She widened her eyes and touched the silk. It was the silk she had traded 3 years ago. She remembered the magnificent pale silver dragon patterns sewn on the perfect piece of white silk. It was sewn by the most delicate hands from Shinra.

"…Where did you get this? I traded these silk products with the Middle East merchants…" she breathed out. She loved this series of silk very much, yet she gave it up for larger profit. She thought she would never see the dragon patterns again as the old dressmaker died after this batch of silk was sold. Yet here they were with her again.

"I bought them from the Middle East when we were on journeys." Cloud replied. Looking at Tifa's intense gaze on the outfits, he guessed she liked them.

"I thought you Wolves rob." Tifa dropped the sleeve of the outfit and turned away from him. Hearing what she said, Cloud suddenly became angry. He marched towards her and grabbed her shoulders, turning her around.

"Listen. We do not rob. We have taken property from you, yet that is only because you and your trading team trespassed our territory. We take pride in what we do and that was not robbery. Every country has it rules. What about you Shinrans? What did you do to us when we Wolves stepped into your territory with no harmful means? Your Emperor ordered to kill us all!" His blue eyes were flashing with anger; the furious sparks within them shimmering dangerously. Tifa could only let him stare wide-eyed at him fearfully. Then, she got angry as well.

"Then what about me? I am no item or cargo you could take away! I am a human! Why did you take me away!" Tifa screamed back at him, her eyes closing shut when she did so. She pushed him away and tried to slap him, but he caught her hand easily and roared back.

"It is because I believe you are the one! Why don't you understand? Why can't you give me a chance? You women never had the chance to marry whoever you love in Shinra. You don't even get to know each other until the wedding day! I am trying hard to let us know each other more but why are you acting like this! Is it because I am a Wolf and the difference between us is too big? Does identity really matter so much to you? Then why did you give up your identity of a woman and lived like a man for the past ten years? I know taking you away has made you sad, but what about in Shinra? You still have to get married to someone you don't even know! You could never pretend to be a man for the rest of your life! "

"I…" Tifa was speechless. Identity of a woman? Identity of a Shinran? She was dizzy thinking about what he had just said. She dropped onto the floor with a gentle thump. Cloud looked at her fragile form.

"…I'm sorry. I thought giving you something from Shinra would make you feel more comfortable. It seems that I am wrong. It contrasts our difference even more. "

Sighing, he left her bed chamber, running his fingers through his unruly hair in a frustrated manner.

* * *

><p>Tifa crumbled on the floor and hugged herself. She didn't know how to argue back. She rocked herself back and forth slowly. Suddenly, the door creaked and she looked up in alert. Knowing their peeking has failed, Marlene and Denzel pushed her door open and entered her chamber.<p>

"Sister Tifa…" Marlene looked at Tifa cautiously.

"…Yes?" Tifa asked tiredly.

"We heard you and Brother Cloud fighting. It's bad to fight…Nanny Nana always says this to me and Denzel." The children looked at each other and back at Tifa.

"I think you hurt Brother Cloud really badly. I have never seen him like this before." Denzel played with his fingers.

"…"Tifa didn't know how to answer the children.

"Why don't you give Brother Cloud a chance? Are you still angry because he took you from Shinra?" Marlene asked.

Tifa buried her face into her hands.

"…I don't know."

"Brother Cloud has done a lot for you. I have never seen him so considerate for a girl before." Denzel said.

The two children sat on the floor with Tifa. A short while later, Tifa looked at them. Both of them looked back at her. Smiling slightly, Tifa stood.

"…I want to change my clothes. Do you two mind waiting outside for me?" Tifa touched their heads. Marlene and Denzel smiled and hurried outside her chamber. Tifa closed the door and turned to the outfits. She would never give up her identity of s Shinran.

Was she too stubborn?

Maybe…perhaps…she should start finding back her identity of a woman. A free woman.

Maybe…she should give him a chance?

Maybe...she should give herself a chance?

* * *

><p>Tifa opened the door to find Marlene and Denzel still waiting for her. Both of them widened their eyes when they see Tifa in the white Shinran outfit. ***( kimono)<p>

Tifa wore her hair in a low ponytail with a thin red ribbon, and she has applied slight blush on her cheeks. Her over-collar and inner-collar was neatly folded, the swinging long sleeves of her outfit draping at her sides and the silver obi around her waist was tidy and neat. She hung the two pieces of translucent white jade medallions which was hid beneath her outfits on the front of her obi, the red threads a sharp contrast to the white outfit she was wearing. She put on high-heeled black sandals to finish her look.

It was the most traditional Shinran look she could manage.

"Woooaahhh." Denzel looked at Tifa in awe. It was the first time he saw a woman in exotic foreign clothing.

"Sister Tifa you are so pretty!" Marlene chirped. Both of them pulled Tifa's hand and wanted to bring her to Cloud, but Tifa stopped them.

"W-wait!" Tifa stopped them.

"What are you waiting for? You should go see Brother Cloud." Marlene looked at her with questioning eyes.

"…"

"Well?" Denzel was getting too excited and too impatient.

"…I want to know how to say sorry and thank you in Wolvish." Tifa dipped her head.

Marlene and Denzel looked at each other and smiled.

* * *

><p>Cloud was in the fields with his men. He was troubled. Vincent and Angeal knew from his looks. Cloud slammed his buster sword with Angeals' but Angeal gave him another quick blow, sending Cloud onto the ground.<p>

"Not focused at all, Cloud." Angeal helped him up.

Cloud sighed and took off his shirt. It was covered with dirt. He dropped his sword and faced the younger Wolves. The younger wolves quickly took off their shirts and got ready excitedly.

"Enough sword fight. I want to wrestle." He got into a crouching position and got ready to pounce. With a roar, men ran into each other, bodies slammed together and the wrestling started. Cloud threw Kadaj on the ground and tackled Loz on the floor. The other men were also wrestling around them. It was a large wrestling practice. Cloud got up and was ready for another fight when suddenly some of his men focused their eyes behind him. Seeing their gaze, Cloud looked behind him, panting from the exercise. He widened his eyes.

In a short distance away from the fields was Marlene and Denzel waving and jumping and there was Tifa. She stood there with the two happy children, looking at Cloud. She held onto one of the jade medallions hung on her waist belt tightly, the mild wind blowing a few strands of her hair in her face. Cloud could look at her forever. Then, he remembered their fight two hours ago. Leaning down, he picked up his shirt from the ground and walked away along the stream, leaving an order behind for his men to continue their training. Seeing him walk away, Tifa followed him as fast as she could with the high-heeled sandals.

* * *

><p>"<em>W-wait..!"<em> Tifa caught up with him and touched his wrist. Cloud widened his eyes.

"You're speaking…" Tifa stopped him from talking.

"…_I. Am. Sorry." _Tifa looked straight into his eyes. Cloud's jaw dropped slightly.

"…_Thank you for the clothes."_ Tifa slowly spoke, the Wolvish sounded rough, harsh and unfamiliar to her.

Cloud stood still. Tifa was waiting for his reply. Seeing no response from him, Tifa dipped her head.

"That is all I want to say…so…" Tifa turned around and started to walk away, but Cloud held her wrist.

"You are a beautiful Shinran woman." Cloud replied.

"…_Thank you._"

"Why are you speaking in Wolvish? Who taught you?" Cloud asked curiously.

"…I have my own ways." Tifa replied.

Cloud smiled.

"So…you're not angry?" Tifa asked. Cloud touched her cheek.

"I could never be angry with you for more than a day." Cloud held her hand. Tifa let him be.

"…I was angry that you took me away. My family must be really worried about me. Our business in Shinra must be in chaos. That is why I am angry. I do not understand your Wolvish custom, your feelings, your people. If you would let me write them a letter…I just want them to know that I am safe." Tifa dipped her head low.

Cloud looked at her. This was the first time she was willing to tell him why she was angry. He never knew that the family bond between Shinrans were as strong as the Wolves themselves. He thought Shinrans were profit-oriented people. He brushed away the strands of hair in her face.

"…If that is what you want." Cloud caressed her hands.

"…" Tifa dipped her head lower.

"? What is it?" Cloud leaned closer to hear what she was saying.

"…I…" Tifa mumbled. _Want to give us both a chance._

"…? I can't hear you." Cloud looked confused.

"…Never mind." Tifa backed and started walking away from Cloud.

"Thick grow the rush leaves;  
>Their white dew turns to frost.<br>The person whom I love  
>Must be somewhere along this stream…" *** (Chinese poem "Jian Jia" from "The Odes of Qin")<p>

Tifa stopped in her tracks and her eyes widened. She turned around and looked at Cloud.

"How do you…?" She walked back to him.

"I learnt." He walked up to her.

Both of them looked at each other.

Their hearts…

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

He read her one of the most famous love poems of her land. It would be a lie to say that it didn't touch her heart.

The two of them looked at each other, the conflicts they had seemed so far away now. They felt…at ease and comfortable.

Yet, the two of them went into the evil eyes of another young woman.

Aisha.

* * *

><p>That's it for chapter 8. I think it is romantic to read a love poem to a person you admire.<p>

The Chinese poem is a really beautiful one when being written in Chinese. The feeling and emotions of the poem cannot be fully expressed in English but I hope the translation was still well-done. I found the translation on the Internet because I am too weak at translating.

Byebye.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Final Fantasy VII.**

**Warning: Adult content. May make readers feel uncomfortable.**

* * *

><p>"<em>SI." <em>

"_SHI."_

"…_SI."_

"Nonononono, it's _SHI_.It has the _sh-sh_ sound, not s-." Denzel pointed at the character he wrote on the piece of rice paper.

"…SHI."

"Yes, that's right! It means water." Denzel gave Tifa a toothy grin.

"…In Shinra, water is SHUI." Tifa said to Denzel quietly.

"…Wow, it sure does sound similar." Denzel picked up the piece of paper and handed it to Tifa. "Can you write it down?"

"…I thought you know Shinran." Tifa looked at Denzel.

"..I know how to speak it but I don't know how to read it." Denzel scratched his head.

Slowly, Tifa picked up the writing brush and dipped it into the black glossy inkpot. She lifted her draping sleeve away from the paper and started writing the character down. The black ink soaked into the piece of rice paper immediately as she wrote and spread out into a foreign letter Denzel has never seen. Tifa put the brush down onto the holder and placed her hands on her lap. Denzel leaned over to take a look.

"Your writing is pretty, Sister Tifa." Denzel picked up the paper and raised it in the air. The soft sunrays shone through the piece of rice paper, colouring yellow shades onto Denzel's face. Denzel looked back at Tifa and smiled brightly. Tifa smiled at him. They were sitting on a small hilltop under a large old tree. The snow was gone for three days and it was becoming warm. When she asked Denzel to teach her Wolvish quietly, Denzel immediately promised and brought along his paper and brush for her.

"…Denzel, promise me you won't tell your brother." Tifa touched his small hand and looked into those big blue eyes. Denzel nodded but showed a bit of doubt.

"Actually, why can't you ask Brother Cloud to teach you? He must be very willing to do so." Denzel scratched his head again. Tifa lowered her gaze. She didn't want to tell Denzel she wanted to secure herself from danger. Not knowing Wolvish among the Wolves was just uncomfortable.

"….I want it to be a surprise for him." Tifa smiled at Denzel. Denzel smiled.

"Sure!"

"Sister Tifa!"

Tifa looked up. It was Marlene running towards them. She had an armful of large colourful papers.

"Look what I did! I dyed the paper in different colours myself!" She grinned proudly at Denzel and Tifa. Denzel looked at the bunch of paper.

"What are you going to do with them?" Denzel asked.

"….I don't know yet, maybe draw on them or practice my writing?" Marlene looked up at Denzel with her big brown eyes. Tifa looked at the two young children.

"Why don't you make them into kites?" Tifa suggested.

"…Kites? What are kites?" The two children looked at her. Tifa widened her eyes in surprise.

"You've never flew kites before?" Tifa reached for the colourful papers. Marlene handed them to her while shaking her head.

"Denzel, can you go find me some long, thin twigs and a big roll of thread?" Tifa spread out the pieces of paper onto the ground. Denzel jumped up excitedly.

"Alright! I'll be right back!" he dashed off immediately.

"Sister Tifa, what are kites?" Marlene kneeled beside Tifa. Tifa pinched her cheek lightly.

"You'll know later."

* * *

><p>After fixing the twigs properly onto the diamond shaped paper, Tifa cut a small hole on the kite and tied one of her extra red ribbons at the end to make a tail. She poked holes on the sides and tied the thread onto it properly. Marlene and Denzel looked at her in amazement and curiosity. Tifa stood up and picked up the kite. She gave the kite to Denzel.<p>

"You hold onto the kite and stand here. Why I say let go of the kite, you throw it in the air, okay?" Denzel and Marlene nodded in excitement. Tifa kicked off her sandals and stood a distance away from the children. As a gust of wind twirled by, Tifa shouted.

"Now, Denzel!" Denzel quickly threw the kite into the air as high as he could and Tifa started running down the hill.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Marlene and Denzel screamed in amazement as they stared wide-eyed at the kite.

The kite was drooping at first but gradually glided in the sky and flew higher and higher. Tifa slowly came to a stop when she saw that the kite was in the sky. She let the thread flow and the kite flew even higher. The children came running to her.

"Sister Tifa! That was amazing!" Marlene and Denzel hugged her by the waist. Tifa panted but gave a giggle and hugged the children. It was the first giggle she had coming from her heart after being taken. Being with the two children was her comfort zone.

"Why don't we fly the other one as well?"

* * *

><p>Cloud was looking around for Tifa when suddenly he heard screaming from the nearby hill. He dashed towards the screaming, fearing if the children and Tifa were in danger. By the time he saw them, his heart melted.<p>

There she was with the children; flying kites in the sky, running around and waving her hands in the air to motion Marlene to let go of the kite. He laughed when the kite didn't fly the first time. Tifa picked up the kite and handed it back to Marlene and got ready to try again.

"One more time!" He heard her say. Marlene threw the kite in the air and Tifa ran again clumsily in her long draping clothes. The kite drooped but successfully flew high in the sky. Smiling, he slowly walked up towards them.

Tifa turned to look at the kite while running. She smiled when she saw the purple kite gliding high along the wind.

"OOF!" she bumped into a hard figure and was embraced from behind. Surprised and shocked, she immediately turned and tried to push the person away. She looked up at the "attacker". It was Cloud.

"Let go! You scared me!" Tifa slapped his arms with her free hand. Cloud let her go. Tifa backed away from him. Marlene and Denzel came running towards them.

"Brother Cloud! Sister Tifa taught us how to fly kites!" The children chirped happily. Cloud smiled at the kids and turned to Tifa.

"I can see that you're all having fun." Cloud bent down and carried Marlene. Marlene giggled and hugged him back. He ruffled Denzel's hair and smiled at Tifa. Startled by his smile, Tifa lowered her gaze and turned away. She felt strange. She walked back up the small slope quickly and packed Denzel's brush and paper into a piece of cloth and hid it in her draping sleeves. She turned to see Cloud motioning her to come to them at the bottom of the small hill. Putting her high sandals back on, she carefully walked to them. Cloud reached out for her and brushed away the naughty strands of hair in her face. Tifa didn't shy away from his touch. She looked at him for a while and Cloud looked back at her with his glowing eyes. She then walked on with Cloud and the two children following behind her, the two kites still flying side by side in the children's hands.

"_Why does Sister Tifa become so quiet when you arrive?"_ Marlene whispered into Cloud's ear. Cloud scratched his head.

"_I'm still not sure. But your Brother Cloud is trying very hard to make her happy." _Cloud swung Marlene around and she squealed and giggled. Last time he thought she was very happy to hear that he was learning her culture. Cloud gave a little sigh.

…_Women._

* * *

><p>"Hey, slow down a little, you're walking too fast!" Cloud tugged Tifa by the sleeve. Tifa turned to see Marlene in Cloud's arms and Denzel clinging onto his back and ruffling his hair. He looked just like those weird looking chickens she saw before. What were they called? <em>Ah…chocobos.<em>

He looked so clumsy with the children hanging on him. Tifa paused for a moment and stifled a giggle. She hid her smile with her draping sleeve, yet Cloud saw her smiling eyes.

"Are you laughing at me?" Cloud smiled and poked her waist with his finger. Tifa ducked his attack and continued walking, a small smile on her face. By the time they arrive at Cloud's mansion, Nanny Nana was at the entrance welcoming them.

"_Master."_ Nanny Nana bowed to Cloud. The old woman gave a laugh at Cloud with the children all around him. She helped him unload the children off his body.

"_Hello Nanny Nana."_ Cloud stretched. Denzel poked at his belly button, causing Cloud to shrink instantly, and ran off laughing with Marlene.

"_Ya naughty cub, wait till I get ya!" _Cloud yelled after the two children. He gave a smile and turned to Tifa, who was looking at the direction the children ran with a smile on her face. Cloud offered her his hand. She looked at him with question.

"What is it?"

"Care to take a walk with me in our garden?"

Tifa did not take his hand but nodded. She noticed he was behaving politely and she didn't want to stay in her chamber anyway. Cloud pulled his hand away and led her outside.

The roses were a deep elegant red among the lush green bushes in the garden. The marble trail on the floor was pure white, and Tifa did not know where it will lead her. His garden was huge. Cloud placed his hand on her waist and pushed lightly to move her forward. She straightened up and walked along the white marble trail. There was awkward silence. Then, Cloud spoke.

"I want to invite you to dinner with me tonight at the Chief gathering." Cloud murmured quietly but sincerely. Tifa stopped and looked at him in surprise.

"What?" Tifa turned to look at him.

"I want to invite you to dinner with me tonight at the Chief gathering." Cloud repeated.

Tifa furrowed her delicate brows.

"I don't think that is appropriate. After all it's a Chief gathering and I'm only a Shin-" Cloud silenced her by pressing his finger on her lips.

"Don't say those words." He said softly, his finger drawing around on her soft pink lips. He looked at her intensely. Panting slightly, she placed her hand on his chest and pushed him away. He was way too close to her. Turning around, she started walking again.

"I want you to be next to me during the gathering. I want to introduce you to the whole pack." Cloud walked beside her and observed her. She was dipping her head down in that "Tifa-way" again. He walked past her and stopped her. Gently, he reached out and took hold of her hands. He looked at them and caressed them with his thumbs. Then, he looked up. His eyes were a brilliant China blue which remembered her of the beautiful porcelain vases placed back in her Shinra home.

"Please?" He looked so sincere and innocent here, just like a child. She sighed.

"I…"

"_Brother Cloud!" _A young woman in a long, red dress and black fur cloak came running towards them, the small golden bells on her waist belt tingling together; the only purpose of them was just to draw people's attention to her existence. Cloud sighed tiredly.

"_Aisha…"_

Tifa looked at the woman running towards them. She remembered seeing her at the Sheichakrey. Aisha threw herself on Cloud, hugging him tightly. Tifa backed away in surprise, and turned away immediately when she saw the young woman's cleavage pressed upon Cloud's arm. Noticing Tifa, Aisha pressed even closer to Cloud.

"_Brother Cloud, who is this? " _She looked innocently at Cloud and at Tifa. Tifa looked away from them. Prying her off of his arm, Cloud stepped away from the woman and stood next to Tifa.

"_This is Tif-" _Without letting Cloud finish, Aisha pulled Cloud away from Tifa and towards the mansion.

"_Never mind who she is. I couldn't decide what to wear for tonight at the Chief gathering! Please help me choose, Brother Cloud!"_ She clung onto his arm again.

"_I've brought the whole trunk here to let you choose what I should wear."_ Aisha clapped her hands. Two maids carrying a trunk came forward. They placed the trunk in front of them and opened it. Aisha quickly knelt and picked out some outfits.

"_I don't know if I should wear blue or red. How about this emerald green? It matches my eyes, doesn't it, Brother Cloud?" _Aisha continued to blabber. Cloud sighed. He walked towards her and pulled her up.

"_Aisha…"_ Cloud started. Aisha looked up at him innocently and gave him a sweet smile.

"_Yes, Brother Cloud?"_ She leaned towards Cloud. Cloud stopped her and pushed her away lightly. She frowned at his actions but listened.

"_Aisha, Tifa will be going with me to the Chief gathering tonight." _

Aisha paused. She slowly put the outfit she was holding back in the trunk.

"_But you took me to the Chief gatherings before…"_ Aisha looked at Cloud.

"_The Empress Dowager suggested bringing you with me in the past gatherings. Now that I have Tifa, you don't have to go with me anymore."_

Cloud walked to Tifa.

"_Tifa is my love. I hope you can wish us happiness."_ Cloud smiled at Tifa. Tifa widened her eyes. She learnt the word _"love" _today. She understood what Cloud said. Aisha looked at Tifa with a blank expression. Then, she smiled and knelt in front of Cloud and Tifa.

"_Brother Cloud, I wish you and your love happiness forever." _ She bowed her head and stood.

"_I better return to the Empress Dowager now." _Bowing again, she turned and left, her maids carrying the trunk and following her.

Seeing her leave, Tifa frowned. That woman…she must be careful around her. She looked at Cloud.

"Will she be alright?"

"I think so. Let's get you prepared for tonight." Cloud smiled and pulled her with him into the mansion.

"W-wait!"

* * *

><p>Aisha walked down the corridors of the Empress Dowager's palace quickly. Her hands tightened into fists. By the time she entered her chamber, she screamed in fury and slammed the trunk her maids were holding onto the floor.<p>

"_Get out! Get out all of you get out!" _

The maids left her room in fear. Aisha pulled the outfits out of the trunk and started ripping them in anger. She threw them aside and panted. She closed her eyes and calmed herself down. She opened her eyes again. Standing up, she walked towards her mirror. Picking up her powder puff with her shaky hands, she started applying powder on her face and then drew her lips red. Pulling her drawer, she pulled out a small piece and paper and scribbled something onto it. Then, she opened the door and handed it and a small pouch of gold to her closest maid, Yara.

"_Give this note and pouch to the royal doctor. Bring back the medicine and tell the doctor to keep his mouth shut. Make sure no one knows and sees you."_ Aisha ordered Yara. Yara nodded and left.

She put on her black cloak again. She needed to visit someone. Someone who was notorious for his obscenity and lewdness. Don Corneo, future Chief of the Gongaga Pack. He will arrive near the evening. She shall meet him at the entrance of the city walls.

* * *

><p>Tifa carefully swept blush on her cheeks. The sun was setting, and it was nearly time for her to leave with Cloud for the Chief gathering. She was nervous. She didn't know if it will be like last time at the <em>Sheikchakrey.<em>

Knock Knock.

Tifa stood and opened the door. It was Cloud.

"Are you rea-…" Cloud stopped. She looked beautiful in a silk navy blue Hanfu*. (Han Chinese clothing) The deep blue showed a contrast to her fair skin. She was wearing the white jade ornament he gave her on her waist skirt again. He smiled.

"You look stunning."

Tifa blushed. Cloud took hold of her hand and placed a kiss on it. Tifa withdrew her hand, surprised by his kiss. He paused, and then he leaned towards her, his mint breath caressing her face. He was going to kiss her again. She fluttered her eyes shut and stopped him, her fingers on his lips.

"No…" Tifa refused softly. She panted slightly. The tingling feeling was inside her again. Cloud held her wrist and gently kissed her fingers one by one, looking at her in half-opened eyes. His long eyelashes were a deep molten gold and his eyes were glowing. Tifa couldn't look away from him. She let out her breath shakily.

"When you lean so close…my heart beats really fast." She breathed out quietly. Cloud gave her a smile and leaned closer, pulling her hand away from his lips.

"Let me…kiss you …" Cloud tilted her head and leaned closer. Tifa slowly closed her eyes. Cloud's heart leaped a little and closed his eyes. Their upper lips touched.

"_Master! The horses are ready!"_

Both Cloud and Tifa's eyes shot opened and Tifa quickly backed away from Cloud. She blushed furiously. How could she do that! How could she kiss him?

"_Nanny NANA!" _Cloud growled in frustration.

"_WHAT?"_

Taking a deep breath, he offered the blushing Tifa his hand and led her down the stairs.

_DAMN IT. HE WAS SO CLOSE._

* * *

><p>Aisha stood in front of the villa while her maid showed royal identity to the guards.<p>

_This was where Don Corneo will be staying for tonight, huh._

The guards, after checking her identity, allowed her to enter the villa.

"_Uh…oh…yes…yes…ugh…ugh…..ohhhh!"_ Lustful cries were echoing throughout the whole villa reserved for Don Corneo. Aisha frowned at the moans of pleasure. She came immediately after hearing that Don Corneo has already arrived. She didn't expect him to be "busy" so soon after arriving.

"Tell your master I am waiting for him here." Aisha ordered a servant nearest to her. The servant nodded and headed towards his master. Aisha walked into the villa and sat onto the couching in the waiting room. There was a slight pause of the screaming, and then it continued.

"_Ughh…yes…harder…ah…ahhh! Harder! Oh master!"_

The servant came to her again.

"_Princess Aisha, my master said he will not be seeing anyone at the moment."_

"_Tell him I have a very special gift for him tonight. If he wants to know what it is, he must come down now." _The servant bowed and left again. Aisha's green eyes were filled with anger and menace.

_Filthy perverted pig._

The servant came again.

"_Princess Aisha, my master won't be…" _

Aisha stood up and walked straight up the stairs and down the corridor.

"_Princess Aisha, you cannot go up there…."_ The servant followed and yelled behind her. Aisha walked down the corridor. The moaning and screaming were getting louder and louder as she walked closer.

"_Ah…you're so tight! Ugh..ah…"_

"_OH…master…ughh…oh! Ahhh you're so rough! …ahh..ahhh…ahhhhh…!"_

Aisha pushed the doors open forcefully. Don Corneo quickly withdrew from the women in his bed and covered himself. The woman in his bed shrieked and hid under the covers.

"_SHIT! What the fuck!" _He looked up at the intruder. His eyes widened.

"_Ai..Aisha..!"_

"_Hello, cousin." _Aisha stood in front of the two naked people. She swept a cold glance at the woman beside him.

"_Leave without a word or I'll slit your throat."_

The woman quickly wrapped the covers around her and left, fright showing all on her face.

"_Hey- wait!"_ Don Corneo called after the woman but she was long gone. The lewd man immediately became angry.

"_What the hell are you trying to do? I would kill you even if you are my cousin. It seems that sparing your life was a poor decision made by my father." _He wrapped a robe around himself and poured himself a bowl of strong liquor. Aisha fisted her hands in her dress as his words reminded the betrayal of her uncle to her father.

"_Why, I am here to offer my dear cousin a gift." _She curled her amber hair around her finger.

"_I bet your gift is poisoned. Leave before I kill you." _Don Corneo climbed back onto his bed.

"_Young_ _Chief Strife has brought back a Shinran woman from his recent trip. Brunette, red eyes, fair flawless skin and a body men would beg to touch." _She looked at the man in front of her. The man sat up a little. Aisha smiled.

"_What are you trying to offer, exactly." _Don Corneo looked at the woman before him.

"_The woman was taken from a brothel and is willing to go with anyone as long as they have this…" _She tossed a few coins onto his bed. Don Corneo looked at the coins then back at her.

"_Strife is still playing with her, isn't he? I'm not going to risk my life for a woman anyway. " _The man drank from his bowl. Aisha continued.

"_Oh…that woman plays with a lot of men and Chief Strife doesn't mind at all." _

Don Corneo looked interested now.

"_You sure he doesn't mind at all?" _

Aisha smiled and nodded. Don Corneo grinned like a pig but frowned again.

"_Why are you offering me a woman?"_

Aisha stood and walked around his room.

"_I was hoping if you could praise about me in front of your father, and let me have the chance to return to Gongaga once in a while. I am not asking for complete restoration of my royal identity in Gongaga, just a permission to come and go around my homeland."_ She lied.

Don Corneo, dim-witted, thought for a while and grinned.

"_Deal."_

Aisha smiled. She took out a small container and tossed it to the man. The man caught it and opened it. There were small red pills.

"_I bet you will have to use this tonight." _

Don Corneo grinned.

"_Why, thank you for being so considerate, my dear cousin."_

Aisha left soon after she tossed him the pills. Don Corneo immediately took a pill from the container.

"_Tell the hooker to come back, we haven't finished." _He told his servant. He want to try the pill on the hooker. Yet, the servant came and whispered into his ear.

"_Master, the woman is dead. Her throat was slit open and was found in the alley just behind the brothel she came from."_

Don Corneo had a face of disbelief.

Aisha that crazy woman. He understood that she meant this deal was to be secret.

* * *

><p>Cloud led Tifa into the large yurt where the Chief gathering will be held. There were about twenty people there already, eating and drinking and enjoying themselves. The Chiefs waved at Cloud as they entered. Cloud helped Tifa sat down and he sat next to her. Servants immediately poured wine and served them food. There were music and dancing in the middle of the yurt. The Chiefs were all talking and laughing until one pointed at Tifa.<p>

"_What a beautiful woman! Where did you meet her, Strife?"_

Cloud didn't respond but gave a fake smile. He hugged Tifa closer to him.

Don Corneo eyed Tifa from the top to bottom while drinking his wine. She was really a beauty. He shouted to Cloud.

"_Strife, I'll give you fifty horses for that woman."_

Cloud frowned.

"_She is not for sale. She is mine." _Cloud glared at Corneo.

"_Plus fifty goats!" _He crawled up to take a closer look at Tifa. Tifa hid behind Cloud. The man looking at her was disgusting.

Cloud drew out his dagger and slammed it between Don Corneo's fingers and into the table. Don Corneo backed off. Cloud glared at him.

"_She, is not for sale."_

Don Corneo went back to his seat.

_Damn Aisha._

Soon after the little incident, different Chiefs began coming towards Cloud with their daughters.

"_Strife, this is my daughter Shary." _ Cloud looked at the two people in front of him. Tifa looked at the two people as well. The young woman blushed furiously in front of Cloud. Cloud knew what the old Chief meant. Tifa understood what message the old man in front of them was trying to convey as well. Tifa looked at Cloud to see what he would do. Cloud didn't say anything but he only nodded to greet them. People continued to introduce their daughters to Cloud, neglecting Tifa's existence.

Feeling heavy, Tifa stood. Cloud held her hand.

"Where are you going?"

"..I need some fresh air." Tifa backed away from him and turned to exit from the back entrance of the yurt.

* * *

><p>She took a deep breath and walked away from the noisy yurt. A sad and jealous feeling surged from her heart when those young women came up to Cloud. Was she…?<p>

She shook her head away from the thoughts and turned back, only to bump into a hard figure.

"_You sure are a woman men would die for." _

Tifa gasped in fright. She ran immediately yet was pulled back. A greasy hand started untying her waist belt and the other covered her mouth. She felt something like a pill inside her mouth and melted immediately. She struggled fiercely.

"_Gods Strife should share you for a bit…" _Don Corneo threw her waist belt aside and pulled off the blue layer of her outfit. Tifa screamed immediately after his hand went away from her mouth.

"CLLLOUUUD!" She was then pushed onto the ground and the man's filthy hand started gliding up her legs. She struggled again and ducked away from his kisses. There was a sudden heat running inside her veins. Her cheeks flushed red and she started panting, her struggling became weaker. Warmth was gathering around her abdomen and she felt hot.

"_Just give in and enjoy."_ Don Corneo started unbuckling his belt when suddenly he was thrown off of Tifa. Cloud turned Corneo around and punched him hard in the face and stomach and landed a strong kick in his chest. Don Corneo knelt and coughed blood.

"_I told you she was mine." _Cloud picked him up and gave him another punch in the abdomen.

"_I am very willing to kill you right now."_ Cloud's eyes glowed in the dark and this was the first time Don Corneo ever felt frightened by a glare. Cloud was furious. But if he killed him right now, the whole pack would be in conflict with the Gongaga pack. He shoved him onto the ground again.

"_Touch her again and I will cut your fingers off one by one and kill you." _ Cloud picked Tifa up and left.

* * *

><p>Thank god he came after her after seeing that Don Corneo was out of sight inside the yurt. He heard her scream and rushed towards her. He looked at Tifa in his arms. She looked strangely flushed.<p>

"Tifa, are you alright?" He shook her a little as they entered his mansion.

"I feel…so hot…." Tifa weakly replied. She pulled at her collar. Cloud placed her on his bed and looked at her. She looked so dazed and…

Cloud widened his eyes. He held her face and looked into her eyes. Her pupils were dilated and she was sweating.

_That bastard._

"I'll go bring you some cold water." Cloud turned to leave but Tifa caught his hand.

"..I feel so hot…" Tifa started undressing herself. She didn't know what she was doing. She just needed to cool herself down. Cloud pulled her hands away from herself and tied her robes back properly.

"No…you can't take your clothes off…" Cloud swallowed. Tifa cupped his face. She leaned towards him.

"I need to…I don't know what I need…" She started pulling at her clothes again. Cloud stopped her again.

"No, don't take your clothes off." Tifa suddenly pulled Cloud onto the bed with her and hugged him tightly.

"I feel so hot and…and my whole body aches. My whole body…" She took hold of Cloud's hand and trailed them down her sides. There were tears in her eyes.

"Pl-please…I need to…" She whimpered.

Cloud swallowed and flushed hotly. Tifa was drugged. He couldn't take her like that. He must control himself.

"No, Tifa…" He withdrew his hands and pushed himself up but Tifa wrapped her arms around his neck and started kissing his face and suckled on his earlobe.

"I need it…." She repeatedly murmured. She took his hand and led it to the place between her thighs.

"It aches…down there…" She whimpered. Sweat was dripping from Cloud's forehead as he fought to control himself. Suddenly, he picked Tifa up and went into the bathroom.

There was a wooden tub filled with already cold water which he was going to use to shower in the morning. Stepping into the tub, he sat down and pulled Tifa with him. Tifa thrashed around fiercely. Cloud hugged her tight to him.

"No..no!" Tifa struggled.

"Hushhh…hushhh…..it's gonna be okay…." Cloud hugged her tightly so she couldn't move.

"I feel sick…I need you to…" Tifa struggled to turn to Cloud but Cloud tightened his embrace.

"No…Tifa…you're drugged. You can't do this."

Tifa started weeping. She felt horrible.

"Hush…it's going to be alright."

Tifa slowly stopped struggling as Cloud continued to pour cold water on her shoulders. It was hours later when Tifa finally drifted off to sleep and the drug wore off. Cloud dropped his arms and rested. Soon, he drifted to sleep as well.

* * *

><p>Tifa woke with a shiver. She pushed herself up and realized she was soaked wet in the tub with Cloud. She suddenly remembered the incident last night. That horrible man…the pill…then Cloud bringing her to the tub. She checked herself and sighed in relief. She then looked at the still sleeping Cloud. He has fresh scratches all over his body. She believed she was the one who gave him the scratches. Deep inside her heart, she felt a sudden sense of security being with him. He didn't take her even if she was drugged. He was…reliable.<p>

Tifa stood and water splashed around, waking Cloud from his sleep. He looked up to see Tifa standing in front of him in those wet clothes.

"Are you alright?" Cloud stood as well. Tifa nodded.

"Thank you." Tifa looked at him. Cloud sighed.

"Come on, I'll be teaching you some self-defence and assigning a bodyguard to you today."

* * *

><p>That's it for this chapter...<p>

I hope you like the fluff in the chapter.

I'm sure many are going to hate Aisha..hate all you want because she going to get nastier.

Byebye =)


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

* * *

><p>"Your fist should be like this…yup, that's right, do it again. Put more strength into it."<p>

"…" Tifa punched into Cloud's palm again. Cloud accepted her blow easily.

"No, you aren't putting any strength in your punches at all. You've got to hit hard to protect yourself." Cloud motioned Tifa to try again.

"… Can I hit something else?" Cloud smirked.

"You think you're gonna hurt me with your punches? Not yet!" Cloud pinched Tifa's nose. Tifa swiped away his hand and gave a full blow into Cloud's palm. Cloud withdrew his hand. Tifa looked at him.

"Woah…that was good." Cloud shook his hand.

Tifa walked towards the punch bags and landed a blow on it. The punch bag moved slightly and Tifa winced. She held her wrist and examined it. It was okay, but her knuckles were red. Cloud jogged up to her. He took hold of her wrist and took a look.

"Are you alright? You're only a beginner; don't push yourself so hard yet." He worriedly rubbed her wrist.

"…I didn't think it was so hard to punch." She poked the punch bag again. It was like a rock. She withdrew her hand from Cloud's hold and dusted her sleeves. Cloud rubbed his chin.

"Then that's it for today. You need to have some training clothes. You can't fight dressed up like this." Tifa looked at herself.

"I have male clothing."

"That is no need. I'll get you some new clothes of course." Cloud walked beside Tifa.

The winds were strong in the plain meadows. Tifa brushed her hair away from her face and looked into the distance. There were no mountains. Only plain fields with small patches of fresh grass went on and on. The sky spread far into the horizon with thin grey clouds. Falcons flew high, their solitude cries echoing throughout the land. She wondered if her letter was on its way to her family. The man with red eyes said that it will take three weeks for the fastest pigeon to reach the Shinran borders and post.

The winds only blew stronger when Tifa tried once more to brush her low ponytail back. Reaching towards her hair, Cloud pulled the red ribbon loose. Instantly, long locks of soft hair danced wildly in the wind. Tifa gasped. She quickly pulled her hair back, but Cloud stopped her.

"To untie a Shinran woman's hair is to let free the passion within her." Cloud walked closer to her. Tifa looked into his eyes.

"Then did you know that only the husband of a Shinran woman could untie her hair other than herself?" Tifa turned away from him and started walking away. She left her hair untied.

Cloud followed her quickly.

"Then I'll be your husband. I'll make sure to pamper and spoil you." Cloud gave a goofy smile. Tifa didn't respond. Nor did she notice a small smile has slowly crept onto her own face.

He was always so bold to confess his feelings. She didn't know if it was him, or that the Wolves were always a wild race. Sometimes, he frustrates her so much with his insensitivity. Sometimes, he just touches her heart. Sometimes, she simply felt afraid of his feelings. Her heart was locked up in loneliness for years, she was afraid to open her heart to him so easily by his sweet words. Yet, the warm feeling grows within her heart every time he stands close. Tifa closed her eyes tightly and let out a shaky breath. Opening her eyes, she slightly jumped in surprise to find herself looking into the pair of china blue eyes.

"Are you alright? You look a little flushed." Cloud looked at her worriedly. The drug should've completely worn off by now. He furrowed his eyebrows and touched Tifa's forehead. Tifa ducked away from his touch.

"I'm…I'm fine." Tifa touched her own cheeks. She started walking off. Sighing, Cloud followed her. Slowly walking across the meadows, Tifa sneaked glances at him. He was tall, but there are many other Wolves who were taller. His blonde hair looked so soft and light, so different from her own. She twirled a lock of her hair with her fingers, examined it and let it go. She slowed down her pace so that she was walking behind him. His back was so broad, his hips so narrow, and his…

Tifa blushed furiously again.

Cloud knew she was peeking at him but he decided to let her do so. He understood she needs to know more about him, to get used to him being around. He turned around to look at her, only to see her cheeks rosy and avoiding glances. He quickly understood her and smirked.

"Are you sure you're alright? You still look so flushed." Cloud looked at her. This time, he leaned his forehead to hers and touched her neck with both hands. Tifa shut her eyes tightly.

"I'm okay." She pushed him away but he wrapped her arms around his waist, allowing her to touch rather than only looking at him. Tifa fisted into his black tunic and pulled him away from her. He quickly bent down to look into her eyes. Shyness swirled around in her chocolate wine eyes as she ducked away from his touch.

"Don't shy away…" He whispered to her. His deep voice sending excited shivers up her spine. His nose lightly touched hers as he leaned closer. Tifa's lips parted to suck in a deep breath.

"My heart…beats really fast…whenever you come close to me…" Tifa closed her eyes and breathed. Her conscience was telling her this was not right, yet her body was not listening.

"Then, do you like it?" Cloud whispered again, his lips touching hers slightly when he spoke.

"I…"

"Tell me…" Cloud held her closer, pressing their bodies together. Tifa dipped her head and looked away, her hands resting on his strong biceps. Her feet were barely touching the ground as he held her, her outfit limiting her movements even more. Cloud leaned into her neck and nudged her, breathing in her scent. Slowly, he let go of her and turned around. Slightly startled, Tifa looked at him.

_Why did he stop? _

Tifa shook this thought away. Maybe he realized it was not right to do so. Tifa stopped walking .

_Or did I want him to continue?_

Lost in thoughts, she bumped into Cloud's back. She peeked to see what he was doing, only to find Vincent standing in front of them.

"_The Queen Dowager demands you to see her at once." _Vincent took a glance at Cloud, then to Tifa. Cloud nodded and turned around.

"Vincent will take care of you. I am heading to meet the Dowager." Cloud took hold of her hand and planted a kiss on it. Abruptly, he turned and left.

"Come, I shall take you back to his den." Vincent motioned Tifa to follow him. Tifa gave him a curt nod and watched the blonde man swiftly jumped onto his black stallion and headed off into the distance.

* * *

><p>He could hear sobs and cries as he waited outside the Hall of the Empress Dowager. He knew Aisha was inside, a step faster to protect herself. He curled his fists tightly as he waited silently for the Empress to see him. A while later, the golden door knob turned and the bright red door opened, revealing one of the Dowager's closest servants.<p>

"_The Empress Dowager calls for you to enter."_

Cloud entered quietly. Maids quickly pulled away the hanging strings of pearls to make way for him as he walked down the wide burgundy aisle. The Hall was dimly lit, and there at the end of the aisle was the Dowager sitting on her large couch. Aisha knelt beside her, her head laid onto the knees of the old woman. A coat of tiger fur covered half of her body as the old woman stroked her back dearly. Furrowing his brows, Cloud knelt on his knee and greeted.

"_Your highness." _

The Empress Dowager stopped stroking Aisha and shot Cloud a cold glance.

"_I think you know why I have called for you." _The old lady placed her hand on the white furry hand rest next to her. Her long nails dug into the fur.

" _Don Corneo has confessed everything. Aisha must be punished."_ Cloud stood tall. The Empress Dowager looked at Cloud with menace.

"_You hit Don Corneo because of a Shinran woman. What would the whole tribe say? How could you keep the whole pack united? The Chief Gathering last night was to make sure no one has the motive to overthrow the Strife's control. Now what would the Gongagas think?! You put our bloodline in danger because of a Shinran woman! " _The old woman threw her tea cup at Cloud. Cloud didn't dodge and allowed the tea cup to hit him on the chest.

"_The Gongagas would stay as they were. They have no power to cause trouble. Aisha must be punished. " _Although he could not kill Don Corneo for the sake of the Wolves' unity, Cloud would make sure he couldn't enter the Strife borders anymore. Cloud stepped forward to grab Aisha. Aisha sobbed and hugged the Empress Dowager's waist.

"_No! Please, your highness, don't let Brother Cloud punish me. I beg you, please!" _ Large teardrops fell from the maiden's eyes. The Empress Dowager looked at Aisha poorly. She turned and slapped away Cloud's hands.

"_Aisha did that because she loves you! You can not punish her! I forbid you to do so!" _The old lady stood and pushed Aisha behind her. Aisha held onto the old woman's long cloak tightly. Suddenly, she came out from behind and hugged Cloud's legs.

"_Please, Brother Cloud. Please forgive me. I will never do it again! I only love you too much and jealousy has blinded my eyes. Please Brother Cloud, don't banish me, please!" _ Aisha kowtowed again and again, her forehead banging onto the floor hard. Cloud tightened his fists. The Empress Dowager hugged Aisha and stopped her from begging.

"_You can never hurt Aisha as long as I'm alive. Now leave." _

Furious, Cloud turned and stormed out of the Hall, pushing away the curtain of pearls so hard they crashed into the walls and fell. Pearls bounced and rolled around and the maids immediately started picking them up.

"_If I found one pearl missing, I will have your eyeballs taken out as a replacement. Do you understand?" _The Empress Dowager puller Aisha up with her and sat onto her couch again. The maids unanimously bowed to the old woman and continued to gather the pearls. The Empress Dowager took out her silk handkerchief and wiped away Aisha's tears.

"_My dear Aisha, poor Aisha." _She then pulled Aisha into her embrace.

Aisha continued to sob quietly, but her eyes no longer formed tears.

She will be safe as long as this old hag is alive. Then, she could do whatever she want to that slut and still become the Queen of Wolves.

* * *

><p>Tifa was in awe. She continued to walk to her chambers as she appreciated all the porcelain vases and antiques placed down the aisle.<p>

"The master said you can have all of these if you want to." Vincent spoke calmly as he followed her. As she entered her chambers, she gasped.

There were different Shinran antiques and playthings placed onto the small round table where she usually has her tea. A large oriental rug with dark patterns and linings stretched wide in her chambers. The large bed was new, with a low mahogany bed frame. The bed curtains were made of very fine silk georgette and were dancing as the wind enters from the windows. The candles now have rice paper shades over them, making the candlelight softer.

Tifa walked closer to find a Shinran zither * on the floor. She knelt down to touch the strings.

"The master hopes that you like all the presents. He may return late. That is all." Vincent bowed and turned. Stopping, he spoke.

"The master treats you well. You should appreciate what he has done for you. You are his woman. You should listen to him. The coldness you throw at him makes him sad and angry and everyone else has to endure his rage and sadness." Ending his words, Vincent left quietly.

Tifa sat down quietly.

* * *

><p>He could hear a soft melody playing as he walked down the long aisle. She sang along, her voice so soft and lonely. Cloud walked faster towards her chamber. The door was slightly opened and he gently pushed it. There she was, sitting on the dark rug, playing the Shinran instrument, her fingers delicately plucking the strings as she sang along.<p>

"_What I cannot see through is your lonely soul._

_What I cannot understand is the colour of your eyes._

_A gust of wind, a piece of dream, love is as unpredictable as life._

_What has bewitched your heart…?"_

Cloud stood and listened to her. She continued.

"_Your face is drowning in the darkness._

_See what ending will be bloomed from the cherry blossoms._

_Your eyes are as lonely as the moon when you are holding me._

_I'll let you gain happiness in another's arms."_

"_Loving you, is as hard as touching the beating heart,_

_Drawing you… I cannot draw your body,_

_Remembering your face is my persistence for waiting you,_

_You are the song I cannot finish singing."_

Cloud walked up to her. He knelt down and hugged Tifa tightly from behind. Tifa stopped playing, her fingers resting on the strings of the instrument. Cloud pulled her hands towards herself and locked her in his embrace. Tifa did not move. She turned her head slightly to look at the man holding her, her head resting on his shoulder. Cloud looked down at her, his hand now caressing her face.

"Why such a sad song?"

"It's the only song I know how to play…" Tifa looked at the buttons on his shirt. She pulled his hand away from her face and looked at it. His skin was a bit more tanned than hers, his calloused hands large and warm. She touched his fingers gently and looked up to Cloud. Cloud reached for her hand and placed over his heart.

"I give you this." He said softly. Again, he pointed at her heart.

"Give me your heart?" Cloud looked deep into her eyes. Tifa couldn't look away. His eyes were a dark shade of blue under the dim candlelight. Slowly, Tifa reached for his hand and placed it over her heart.

Sighing, Cloud captured her lips in a soft kiss. Shyly, Tifa pressed her lips to his, her hand cupping the side of his face. She could feel her heart racing wildly. Cloud felt nervous as well. It was the first time that she responded to his kiss. Slowly, he deepened the kiss, his lips moving sensually against hers. Tifa stayed still. She was very new to this and didn't know how to continue. Tifa broke the kiss and looked at Cloud. He gave her a small smile and hugged her close, his chin resting on her head. Then, he chuckled.

"Finally."

Tifa furrowed her brows.

"What do you mean finally?"

"You finally accepting me, of course." Cloud smiled and kissed her head. Tifa dipped her head. She pushed herself up and looked at him.

"I trust you." She said firmly. Cloud smiled. He leaned forward to kiss her again.

"I love you." He whispered against her lips.

Tifa closed her eyes and sighed as he slowly trailed kisses down her neck.

This felt so right.

* * *

><p>Hi people! I apologize for the long wait. I have been away for vacation the whole summer to take my mind off things. I went to Sweden for the holiday and I loved the weather there! It is so different from the buzzing international city where I'm from. The people were mostly very tall and blonde and because of the cultural difference and they inspired me a lot in describing Cloud and other characters in the story. I'm sorry for this chapter's length but I thought it would be right to end the chapter here.<p>

A lot of people asked me what inspired me to write TSB. Well, the Chinese movie "Painted Skin" (starring Zhou Xun) inspired me greatly with its background, clothing and even the music inspired me to create different atmospheres in the story. It is my favorite movie ever! You should watch it! Here I recommend a background soundtrack to you all, which is from the movie. Listening to it while reading the story would be cool! You can listen to it here : Just go to you tube and add this at the end of the site address : /watch?v=-83K2KmmSHM

As fpr the song Tifa sang, the lyrics are translated into English and its original song is the main song of Painted Skin sung by Jane Zhang. You can search for it as well. It's called Hua Xin.

Till next time~

*Music instrument "Guzheng"


End file.
